Belgrade has agreed to hold its first direct talks next month with representatives of Kosovo, the Serbian province under UN rule, EU foreign policy chief Mr Javier Solana said today.
But Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership swiftly cast doubt on the talks, saying no date had been set.
"Belgrade and Pristina have clearly indicated a desire to start a dialogue and it will begin at the end of July," Mr Solana told a news conference today after a summit of EU and Western Balkan leaders in this Greek coastal resort.
Kosovo has been a de facto U.N. protectorate since NATO drove Serbian forces from the mainly ethnic Albanian province in 1999 in a bombing campaign.
Kosovo wants independence from Belgrade, but the international community has so far supported only substantial autonomy for the province, fearing further fragmentation of the Balkans after the ethnic wars that destroyed the old Yugoslavia.
Commenting on Mr Solana's statement, Kosovo's Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi said: "As we have always stated, we are prepared to talk with Belgrade but no date has been agreed yet."
Mr Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo's ethnic Albanian president, made clear the province had not abandoned its nationhood ambitions.
"The best solution for the region is formal recognition of the independence of Kosovo, from both the United States and the European Union," he told reporters.
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic told Reuters this week that Belgrade would wait until the appointment of a new UN administrator in Kosovo before starting any talks, including on the province's final status.
The United Nations' current special representative, Mr Michael Steiner, is due to leave Kosovo in July.
Speaking to reporters after the summit, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic said the dialogue between Belgrade and Kosovo's representatives would "be held under the auspices of the UN, the US and the EU and without Steiner".
"We've been unhappy with the UN administration in Kosovo, particularly with Mr Steiner," Zivkovic said, adding the agenda for the talks would include security in the province and the return of refugees.
Belgrade has often criticised Mr Steiner's approach, accusing the German diplomat of gradually handing power to local institutions run almost exclusively by ethnic Albanians.