Senior US official travels to Kosovo to revive Kosovo-Serbia talks after tensions over currency

By LLAZAR SEMINI
Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — A senior U.S. official will visit Kosovo in the next days to put “back on track” talks on normalizing ties between Kosovo and Serbia, after tensions escalated over Kosovo’s decision to ban the use of the Serbian dinar. Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabriel Escobar said he would discuss with Kosovo authorities a possible resolution of the “uncoordinated decision” to ban Serbia’s dinar in ethnic Serbian-dominated areas, especially in Kosovo’s north. The decision angered both Kosovo Serbs and Serbia, and has fueled Western concerns about regional tensions. Escobar acknowledged that Washington and Brussels are struggling to get Pristina-Belgrade dialogue “back on track.”