dinar issue concludes meetings between Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels

Initially, earlier in the day, a trilateral meeting was held between Kosovo's chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi, and Serbia's Petar Petkov, under the mediation of EU envoy for dialogue Miroslav Lajcak. Later, Lajcak held bilateral meetings with two delegations, reports Radio Free Europe.

Today's meetings were the continuation of last week's meeting, when both sides agreed to propose a solution to the dinar issue. At today's meeting, each side's proposals were expected to be discussed.

The use of the dinar for cash payments in Kosovo was banned on 1 February, when the Kosovo Central Bank enacted a new regulation, which defined the euro as the only official currency in the country.

The issue, except that it angered Serbia, sparked differences even between the Government of Kosovo and the international community, as the Serb community in Kosovo has for years received payment in dinars from Serbia's budget.

Western diplomats urged Kosovo to suspend the regulation, to give affected citizens time to adapt to the new practice.

In an interview The REL last week, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, said no proposals for the dinar that are contrary to the BEC regulation will be accepted.