European Union to press the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo to set decades of enmity behind them

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is ramping up political pressure on Serbia and Kosovo to normalize their relations. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Albin Kurti are set to meet on Thursday with the leaders of France, Germany and Italy, plus the two EU officials supervising a stuttering “dialogue” between them. Vucic and Kurti distrust each other and are unlikely to meet face to face. Fears are high of a resumption of the violence that characterized Kosovo-Serbia ties during a 1998-99 war and since Kosovo unilaterally broke away from Serbia in 2008. A major gun battle in northern Kosovo last month has spurred the Europeans into action.