Kosova hopes to normalize relations with Serbia this year, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said Wednesday.
"Normalization of relations with Serbia I wish for this year, for 2024, and in the next years and decades I want to come out victorious on issues like social inequality, climate change and security threats," Kurti told AFP.
Kurti's comments came amid tensions between the two countries over the use of the Serbian dinar, which according to the prime minister, is not officially "banned" in Kosovo.
The comments were given during a wide-ranging interview with AFP a week after the controversial ruling against the currency inflamed the latest round of diplomatic tension with neighboring Serbia.
Kosovo's Serb minority has continued to rely on dinars ever since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
"We are not banning Serbian dinars, people can have Serbian dinars, but the only means of payment is euro," Kurti told AFP, insisting that Kosovo's Serbs will not be punished for holding the currency.
Kurit said a month-long transitional period was also in effect to ease into the new regulation, which would allow for further communication and time to resolve issues.
"It's not our goal either to punish anyone or to surprise citizens, we want to have them onboard," Kurti added.
The prime minister's remarks came as Serbia accused the Kosovo government of physically blocking a shipment of dinars at the border on Wednesday.
"The National Bank of Serbia strongly condemns today's incident and reiterates that it is necessary to immediately repeal the discriminatory, illegal and outrageous measures," said Serbia's central bank in a statement.
The bank said the shipment was set to pay salaries, pensions, social benefits and other payments to Serbs in Kosovo.
Kosovo authorities later said a Serbian vehicle approached the border to inquire about bringing dinars and was informed that only authorized companies could bring currency into the area.
Despite the latest diplomatic row, Kurti said he aimed to normalize relations with arch-rival Serbia in 2024, following years of stalled talks on the issue between the two sides.
Serbia has never acknowledged Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence, with the rivals regularly locked in fierce disagreements over the most minute bureaucratic matters in the former breakaway province, such as a recent spat over license plates.
