US diplomat assures Kosovo that new draft of association of Serb municipalities offers no autonomy

By FLORENT BAJRAMI and LLAZAR SEMINI
Associated Press

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The U.S. ambassador has urged Kosovo’s government to proceed with establishing an association of its Serb majority towns in order to unblock European Union-facilitated normalization talks with Serbia. U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey M. Hovenier said “there is no reason for the government of Kosovo not to move forward with this draft statute.” Normalization talks between Kosovo and Serbia have failed to make progress, particularly following a September shootout between masked Serb gunmen and Kosovo police that left four people dead. The EU and the United States are pressing both countries to implement agreements reached earlier this year. Hovenier says a new draft of the agreement doesn’t give autonomy to Serb-majority municipalities. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s 2008 independence.