US Balkan envoy urges Kosovo and Serbia to deescalate tensions or jeopardize progress toward EU

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A U.S. envoy for the Balkans has urged Kosovo and Serbia to deescalate simmering ethnic tensions in the former Serbian province, or both states could jeopardize their proclaimed goal of one day joining the European Union. Gabriel Escobar has been holding talks with the Serbian and Kosovo leaders on how to resume negotiations between the two former wartime foes. Tensions flared anew late last month in Kosovo, including violent clashes between Kosovo police and NATO-led peacekeepers on one side and local Serbs on the other.