Hill: Dialogue is an important and difficult issue, it must be accelerated

The US ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, has assessed that the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue must be accelerated, and the issue of Kosovo must be resolved, Kurir reports.

"That is one of the most important issues in the region that must be resolved. It's a difficult issue, and the tone between the two sides is not good. The dialogue must be accelerated," Hill said in Skopje, as reported by Voice of America.

Hill, who participated in the conference "Regional Security Challenges and Recent Events in the Western Balkans," said he has his own views on how things should be done, but that he truly respects the people leading the process.

"Josep Borrell, Miroslav Lajcak, and Gabriel Escobar are doing all they can, but it's a very difficult issue related to history and war. It's not easy, but they have to do it," Hill said.

As the main open issues in this process, he sees the establishment of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities and the recognition of Kosovo's documents, but despite the obvious difficulties in the dialogue, he is optimistic because at least there are talks between the two sides.

Hill estimates that the regional initiative "Open Balkan" can help reduce tensions and has no doubt that prolonging tensions between Serbia and Kosovo will be detrimental to the region, which, as he emphasized, other players can exploit.