Serbia and Kosovo’s troubled relationship has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks, with Pristina’s vote on Friday to form an army just one of many sources of tension between the former war foes.
Serbia and Kosovo’s troubled relationship has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks, with Pristina’s vote on Friday to form an army just one of many sources of tension between the former war foes.
Here are the other main quarrels between the neighbours whose mutual distrust runs deep 20 years after Kosovo’s independence war.
— Recognition of Kosovo —
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a decade after its ethnic Albanian guerilla fighters battled Serb troops in a war that cost 13,000 lives.
Although it has been recognised by more than 100 countries, Kosovo has struggled to gain full global acceptance, with Belgrade refusing to recognise the split.
Serbia claims that a dozen countries, such as Papua New Guinea, Surinam or recently Madagascar, have withdrawn their recognition.
But Pristina denies the claims as «Serbian propaganda».
Kosovo has made recognition by Belgrade a condition of any deal to normalise ties — something Serbia needs to do to move forward in EU accession talks.
— Economic war —
With help from allies Russia and China, Belgrade has locked Kosovo out of the United Nations and other international organisations.
