Belgrade says talks with Kosovo to resume in September

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic has said a fresh round of talks with Kosovo will take place on September 2. The talks started in March but stalled last month, when the government in Pristina banned Serbian imports and sent troops to two disputed border crossings to enforce the ban. The move was made in response to Serbia's continuing rejection of Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence. Belgrade is also unhappy that Kosovo has its own customs stamps. Speaking to reporters in Belgrade on Tuesday, Djelic said: "Kosovo's representation in international organizations... has to be in line with Serbia's state interests." "We will do everything in our power to reach a compromise over the issue of customs stamps, but under no condition will we cross the red lines of our state policy," he said. Kosovo, a landlocked region with a population of mainly ethnic Albanians, declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008.