U.S. refereeing Kosovo-Serbia dispute

PRISTINA, Kosovo — A senior U.S. official met Saturday with top Kosovo leaders in an attempt to persuade the Kosovo government to revoke or suspend a tariff on Serbian goods so that dialogue with Serbia can resume.

David Hale, undersecretary of state for political affairs, is the latest U.S. envoy to take part in shuttle diplomacy between Pristina and Belgrade. He met with Kosovo’s president, speaker and prime minister. A day earlier, he was in Belgrade.

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has resisted U.S. calls to suspend the tariff, saying it will be lifted only when Belgrade recognizes Kosovo’s sovereignty and stops preventing it from joining international organizations.

Serbia says it will not take part in the European Union-facilitated discussions until the 100 percent tax is lifted.

Since 2011, the two former war foes have been in the talks, aiming at resolving the long-standing Balkan dispute. The EU has told both countries they must normalize their ties before they can hope to join the bloc.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said Saturday that Serbia should not condition the dialogue, which should be “comprehensive and transparent.”

Thaci said the leaders told Hale that “the status quo and the situation of a frozen conflict are inadmissible.”

Serbia doesn’t accept Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence.