The Serbian Ambassador to Turkey, Danilo Vucetic, said to the Turkish daily Zaman, that that the EU is requesting Serbia to sign a legally binding agreement, which he can only interpret as the EU's attempts to force Serbia to recognize Kosovo.

Vucetic said the Brussels Agreement, which was drawn up between Serbia and Kosovo in 2013 under the auspices of the EU but not signed by either, envisages Serbia's recognition of Kosovo after all negotiating chapters are completed.

 “The position of the Serbian government is clear, [we] will never recognize unilateral proclamation of the independence of Kosovo,” he said, adding that EU officials have said in private conversations with their Serbian counterparts that Serbia cannot be admitted as a member of the EU with “an open problem,” referring to the recognition of Kosovo.