Normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia is “the most complicated process in the Balkans at the moment”, according to the head of the EU’s office in Pristina. But both sides need steady encouragement from the international community to reach a final solution and progress towards EU membership.

The visit to Belgrade by the three members of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s presidency was expected to warm up relations between the two countries, which had soured after the Bosniak presidency member said his country should recognise Kosovo, Serbia’s former province.

That statement hit a raw nerve in Serbia, which refuses to acknowledge the independence Kosovo declared in 2008, although the two sides have in recent years turned to dialogue under EU guidance. All the more reason to look to the high-level visit to thaw the ice.

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Op-ed by Kosovo’s President-elect Hashim Thaci