Sorensen writes, immediately engages in separate conversations with Bisimi and Petkov

The European Union's envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Peter Sorensen, said he has held separate talks Thursday with the two countries' top negotiators, for the first time from taking office by his predecessor Miroslav Lajcak.

Sorensen wrote on X: “I appreciate very good conversations and welcome their invitations to visit Kosovo and Serbia”.

He gave no more details about the talks, nor about possible visits to Pristina and Belgrade.

Sorensen, who officially started work on February 1st, held these talks a few days after Kosovo's chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi, and Serbia's Petar Petkoviq, exchanged accusations on social networks.

Bislimi accused Serbia of discrimination and hatred against Albanians in the Presevo Valley, while Petkovic accused Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti of wanting the majority Serb municipalities in Kosovo to be led by Albanians.

It is not clear when it can hold Sorensen's first meeting under dialogue, as Kosovo will hold elections on February 9th and Serbia faces political uncertainty following the prime minister's resignation.

At their recent meeting in Brussels under Lajcak's mediation on 17 December, Bislimi and Petkovic agreed on full implementation of the joint declaration on missing persons.

Meanwhile, Sorensen, unlike his predecessor, will only deal with dialogue between the two neighbouring countries, not with regional Balkan issues.

Sorensen's appointment is seen as positive, since 57-year-old recognises the region. Diplomats for many years had been engaged in Kosovo under the United Nations Organisation (UNMIK) Mission, as well as other roles in Serbia, Northern Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to policy connoisseurs, he does not need to be informed in advance of the people or the historical facts of the region, because he has already had the opportunity to create a close mirror. Another argument that has been cited as positive by officials in Pristina is that he is from Denmark, a country that recognises Kosovo's citizenship, and will have equal access to dialogue.

Lajcak has been in the middleman's position for five years. During his mandate, agreement has been reached on normalising relations between the two countries, but no step has been made towards implementation.

In the past, Kosovo leaders -- from the country's president, Vjosa Osmani, to Prime Minister Albin Kurti -- have criticised Lajcak for unbalannized access to dialogue and for occasionally listing Serbia.

Lajcak himself had said in an interview for Radio Free Europe, months ago, that such claims do not stand, and had estimated that societies in Kosovo and Serbia are not ready for normalisation.

Kosovo and Serbia dialogue in Brussels since 2011. /Radio Europe Free