Macedonia angrily rejected a U.S. Republican lawmaker's assertion that it "is not a country" and it should be divided between neighboring Bulgaria and Kosovo.

http://www.rferl.org/a/macedonia-blasts-us-congressman-claim-not-coutnry-should-be-divided-kosovo-bulgaria-albania/28299244.html

Ethnic Serbs in the northern Kosovo city of Mitrovica have used bulldozers to knock down a wall that divided the city and raised tensions between Kosovo and Serbia in recent days.

http://www.rferl.org/a/mitrovica-kosovo-serbia-wall/28281161.html

The presidents and prime ministers of Serbia and Kosovo have held a new round of talks aimed at improving ties, with no apparent breakthrough.

http://www.rferl.org/a/kosovo-serbia-talks-brussels-no-breakthrough/28274664.html

President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, and Serbian Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vucic, in a telephone conversation ahead of their meeting in Brussels reaffirmed the need for de-escalating tensions and resolving outstanding issues through dialogue. Sources in Brussels told RFE that the telephone conversation between the two leaders took place Wednesday morning.

The leaders of Kosovo and Serbia agreed at a summit in Brussels on January 25 to hold further high-level talks on establishing normal relations after a flare-up in tensions this year.

http://www.rferl.org/a/kosovo-thaci-serbia-vucic-agree-intensive-talks-normalizing-relations/28255929.html

Kosovo's prime minister has accused Serbia of seeking to destabilize it ahead of a new round of European Union-facilitated talks aimed at ironing out persistent disagreements between the Balkan nations.

http://www.rferl.org/a/kosovo-says-serbia-seeks-destabilization/28254433.html

Ahead of the upcoming round of talks in Brussels, President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci said that Kosovo and Serbia are opening the final chapter of the dialogue for normalisation of relations. Thaci ruled out the possibility of “internal issues” being discussed in the EU-facilitated dialogue. Thaci said Serbia has “seriously provoked” Kosovo with its recent actions which make it necessary to sit down and discuss normalization of relations further. “The best possible solution is definitely for Serbia to recognise Kosovo.

Kosovo plans to consider redefining the format of dialogue with Serbia, Kosovo government officials said. Spokesperson Faton Abdullahu said that to be a factor of stability and pursue policies for normalizing relations with its neighbours, Kosovo needs to engage in dialogue. However, Abdullahu noted the recent “provoking” actions from Serbia lead the government to consider its approach to dialogue.

Kosovo's Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, said Kosovo authorities should introduce reciprocity measures towards Serbia's arrest warrants against Kosovo citizens. “We need to implement reciprocity measures. At the end of the day, it was Serbia that committed genocide and the most heinous crimes against humanity here,” Tahiri said following the French authorities’ detention of AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj on an arrest warrant issued by Serbia through Interpol.

The President of the Kosovo Assembly, Kadri Veseli, announced that his party – the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) – is expected to gather necessary signatures for a plenary session into the death of Vetevendosje activist Astrit Dehari in Prizren’s detention facility. “There will be a session on the 19th of December and the initiative will be PDK’s,” Veseli said.