The leaders of Kosovo and Serbia said Wednesday that they backed fresh dialogue in a bid to ease months of tensions between the neighbours.
Kosovan President Hashim Thaci posted on Facebook that he had called Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic to congratulate him on his April election win, saying the pair had "agreed to pursue dialogue" and to "work together to find solutions to all common issues."
Ana Brnabic, who Vucic has nominated as his prime minister, meanwhile said Belgrade's goal is a "policy of peace and cooperation with Kosovo to reach a commitment and historic reconciliation with the Albanian people."
Some 90 percent of Kosovo's 1.8 million population is ethnic Albanian.
One of Europe's poorest and youngest countries, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
Serbia does not recognise Kosovo's independence, but a 2011 EU initiative led to the establishment of a cooperation framework between Belgrade and Pristina.
Relations became strained after June 11 elections in Kosovo with two potential prime ministers, Ramush Haradinaj and Albin Kurti, having in the past spoken out against normalising ties with Serbia.
Haradinaj is wanted by Serbian authorities to answer allegations of war crimes during the 1998-99 Kosovan war of independence, which left 13,000 dead, mainly Kosovan Albanians.
Belgrade ultimately pulled out of Kosovo after NATO, citing a need for a humanitarian intervention, bombarded its forces.
"Whichever majority governs in Pristina, we shall not be happy -- but there must be dialogue for Serbian survival and security," Vucic said recently.
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