Kosovo visit of Aleksandar Vučić, Serbia's prime minister, signals a new chapter in the history of both countries. Serbia's prime minister is making a landmark visit to Kosovo on Wednesday, signifying the first step towards normalising relations between the two countries. The first official visit by Aleksandar Vučić is "humanitarian and religious" in nature, according to Kosovo's foreign affairs minister Hashim Thaçi, but signals a new chapter in the history of both countries. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia seven years ago after almost a decade of United Nations control following the bloody conflict in the 1990s. The country remains deeply divided and outbreaks of ethnic violence are frequent, particularly in the north of the country where a de facto split across the Ibar River separates the ethnically Serbian and Albanian populations. The proportion of Serbians declined dramatically after Nato intervention in 1998, and now account for around five per cent of the population.

Serbia still refuses to recognise Kosovo's independence, despite the European Union insisting that the countries normalise relations in order to progress towards membership.

Mr Vučić will visit the Serbian-majority towns of Pasjane, •trpce and Gračanica, along with the country's ministers of defence, interior, justice, health and work. The Serbian entourage will not meet with any of Kosovo's politicians, but they are expected to speak to leaders of the parallel institutions that exist in Serbian-majority areas.

Kosovo's foreign affairs minister, Hashim Thaçi, said: "We strive to intensify visits on both sides, we must not be afraid to communicate." Last month, Mr Thaçi told the Austrian magazine Die Presse that the normalisation process had entered a new phase, but that the countries had not yet reached mutual recognition.

However, Mr Vučić told the Iranian ambassador, Majid Fahimpour, earlier this week that Serbia is on its own path towards the EU.