The prime ministers of Serbia and Kosovo have agreed in principle on the implementation of a deal normalizing their relations, dpa cited European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton as saying after talks in Brussels on Wednesday. The top-level talks began Tuesday, under EU auspices, after a deal brokered by Ashton last month threatened to unravel as the two sides failed to agree over its implementation. Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic "have agreed a fixed text which they are now consulting upon," Ashton said. "They will be in touch with me by the end of the week," she added. The landmark normalization deal between Serbia and its former breakaway province opens the door for both sides to enter into closer ties with the EU. However, it is the implementation of the deal that is key for the EU to decide next month whether to open accession talks with Serbia and begin negotiating an association deal with Kosovo. Kosovo, which is mostly Albanian, declared independence in 2008, nine years after NATO intervened against Serbia to end an ethnic conflict in the province. Despite refusing to recognize Kosovo's independence, Serbia agreed to begin EU-brokered negotiations in 2011, with the aim of restoring normal life in the region.
