Akhir 1432 H. / 08 March 2011, SPA -- The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday welcomed the announcement that Serbia and Kosovo will hold high-level direct talks for the first time since Kosovo declared independence in 2008. "This day was not inevitable, and officials from both governments deserve credit for helping their people secure a more prosperous future," Senator John Kerry (Democrat from Massachusetts) said in a statement. But Kerry praised the diplomatic efforts after the 1998-1999 war that led to the ouster of Serbian troops loyal to then-President Slobodan Milosevic, in what Kerry called a "tragic conflict" that "attracted the attention of the world." "Painstaking efforts by individuals on both sides of the conflict along with the international community have brought us to this day when Serbs and independent Kosovars will meet to peacefully address the outstanding issues between them," Kerry wrote. Serbia has said the European Union-brokered talks only will address practical problems like trade agreements, customs issues, and property records, and it emphasized it would never recognize Kosovo's declaration of independence.
