Differences over Kosovo surface at Serb meeting

Serbia's foreign minister on a visit to Bern has agreed to disagree with Switzerland over Kosovo but diplomats made progress on other issues.

At a meeting between Vuk Jeremic and Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey on Thursday, the Serbian official stressed that his country’s position over the ethnic-Albanian region of the former Yugoslavia had not changed. It is still a part of Serbia, Jeremic said.

Switzerland disagrees with that. The alpine country was one of the first to recognise Kosovo’s independence in February 2008, a move that the Serbs strongly criticised.

But the two diplomats said the meeting in the Swiss capital was a good opportunity to deepen their ties on other matters. Among the topics discussed were visas, air traffic accords and trade agreements between the European Free Trade Association and Serbia.