Serbia-Kosovo Customs Talks Make Little Headway

A NATO KFOR vehicle passes by a partially removed roadblock near the village of Zupce in the tense northern Kosovo region.

The European Union says Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to accept each other's university diplomas and made progress on Kosovo's inclusion in regional forums.

The two sides reached agreement in their last round of talks in Brussels this week. But the two delegations did not discuss a customs dispute in Kosovo's Serb-populated north that sparked interethnic violence which left one police officer dead and more than 10 people injured.

The EU-mediated dialogue broke down in September over the dispute.

The next round of talks is scheduled for November 30.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has rejected the split.

The EU insists Belgrade must improve ties with Kosovo to become a candidate for membership in the bloc in December.

compiled from agency reports