The European Union will adopt a "pragmatic" approach to Kosovo, the province which controversially declared independence from Belgrade in 2008, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos told his Serbian colleague on Tuesday.
Spain has not recognized Kosovo's independence, but now, as the EU's current rotating presidency, it has to also speak for the large majority of EU member states which have - leaving Madrid with a thorny challenge.
"We are working in a pragmatic and constructive manner in Northern Kosovo," DPA cited Moratinos as saying in Brussels, after a meeting with his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic.
Serbia in December formally applied to join the EU.
Jeremic rejected a plan drawn up by international representative Peter Feith to stabilize relations between ethnic Serbs and ethnic Albanians in the flashpoint area of Northern Kosovo, saying that it amounted to an imposed decision.
"It's extremely important that no unilateral steps are taken by anybody, anywhere," he stressed.
Local ethnic Serbians, who make up the majority in Northern Kosovo but the minority in the province as a whole, have - with Belgrade's support - set up parallel law enforcement structures in defiance of Pristina's authorities.
As the head of the International Civilian Office (ICO), Feith represents the nations that supported Kosovo's independence, such as the United States, Turkey and EU big-hitters such as Germany, Britain, France and Italy - but not Spain.
At the same time, the Dutch diplomat is the European Union's Special Representative (EUSR) in Pristina. But the bloc is also present in the area with a 2,000-strong justice and police mission (EULEX).
Unlike the ICO, EULEX is supported by all EU member states and is officially neutral on the issue of Kosovan independence.
Jeremic insisted that Serbia will only engage with EULEX, not the ICO, even though Feith heads both organizations. He argued that the Dutchman's proposals for northern Kosovo are "supported by the countries that support the ICO, but not by the EU".
Moratinos did not contradict him. He was also vague on EU plans to offer Kosovo a path towards membership, stating that "the issue has not been fully discussed" within the bloc.
The Spanish minister, however, did confirm that the EU presidency plans a "high-level meeting" with Balkan leaders at the end of May in Sarajevo, where "Kosovo will be represented, of course".
The get-together could offer an opportunity to advance Serbia's European bid. Belgrade is keen for EU countries to ratify a pre-accession deal and to allow the European Commission to start examining its formal application to join the bloc.
But progress on both fronts is hampered by Serbia's failure to catch Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, the last two fugitive war crimes suspects indicted by the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The Netherlands are particularly intransigent on the issue.
"On our side, we are going to do everything that is down to us" to satisfy the ICTY's requests, Jeremic assured journalists.
EU ministers are set to re-examine the question in June, in the light of the latest judgement by ICTY's chief prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, on Serbia's efforts to arrest Mladic and Hadzic.
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