EU special envoy for dialogue Miroslav Lajcak conducted a new round of separate talks in Brussels on September 17 with chief negotiators Petar Petkovic for Serbia and Besnik Bislimi for Kosovo.

The talks took place amid heightened tensions between Belgrade and Pristina, and the planned trilateral meeting between the two chief negotiators and Lajcak did not happen. According to Petkovic, the meeting was derailed when Bislimi refused to participate, while Bislimi said that the Serbian side imposed political demands. 

Lajcak, after holding separate meetings with the delegations, expressed disappointment that key issues could not be resolved in a trilateral format. "I regret that we did not address the most urgent issues today in a trilateral meeting. I remain available to the parties and will continue the dialogue in the coming weeks," Lajcak stated on the social media platform X.

Petkovic attributed the lack of progress to Pristina's refusal to discuss the formation of the Union of Serbian Municipalities, a key issue for the Serbian side. "We are always ready for talks, including on topics proposed by the Pristina delegation, but they rejected our agenda," he was cited by RTS.

Bislimi, however, offered a different perspective, asserting that Kosovo had agreed to the trilateral meeting but accused Serbia of imposing political demands. "Serbia refused to proceed with the proposed agenda and demanded the introduction of topics for political use, which we did not accept," he stated.

According to Bislimi, the bilateral talks with Lajcak focused on the implementation of the Basic Agreement and its annex, which both Kosovo and Serbia agreed to in 2023, Kosovan broadcaster RTK reported.

Bislimi also raised concerns about Serbia’s interference with telecommunications frequencies within Kosovo's territory, an issue that has been reported to Brussels and remains unresolved.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move that Belgrade continues to refuse to recognise.