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| - Serbia's refusal to recognise the independence of its former province Kosovo is the major sticking point of their long-running dispute. But it is not the only source of tension still haunting the Balkan neighbours more than 20 years after their war. Here are the main topics of conflict between the two sides, which are meeting Thursday in Brussels to restart talks facilitated by the European Union. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a decade after its ethnic Albanian rebels battled Serb troops in a war that cost 13,000 lives, mainly Kosovar Albanians. Although it has been recognised by around 100 countries, including the US and most of Europe, Kosovo has struggled to gain full global acceptance, mainly because Serbia's key allies Russia and China refuse to recognise the split. For Kosovo, full recognition from Serbia is a must. Yet Belgrade has enshrined in its constitution that Kosovo is an integral part of its territory. After the last election in June, the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) now has a sufficient parliamentary majority to change the charter. But the subject is highly sensitive: many Serbs consider Kosovo to be the cradle of their national and religious heritage. In Serbia's official view, Kosovo's declaration of independence was illegal because it supersedes a 1999 UN resolution that put the former province under international protection. However a UN court ruling in 2010 said Kosovo's independence declaration did not violate international law. Ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo is still home to about 120,000 Serbs, who are largely loyal to Belgrade. They are concentrated in the northern region around the divided city of Mitrovica, but also in a dozen predominantly Serb enclaves where Pristina has sometimes struggled to exercise its authority. The autonomy of Serb communities is a thorny topic in the EU-led negotiations. In 2013, an agreement called for the creation of an association of 10 Serb-majority "municipalities" in Kosovo. But it has never been implemented, as Belgrade and Pristina cannot agree on the powers these communities would have. In the mainly ethnic-Serb half of Mitrovica, locals use the Serbian dinar as currency and fly the country's flag. Pristina accuses Belgrade of funding a "parallel system" thereby financing schools, healthcare and public companies. The two sides still do not mutually recognise their respective university diplomas. Serb judges and police officers have been integrated into the Kosovo system, yet many other Serb public sector employees, including in education and health, are still paid by Belgrade. Pristina denounces this interference as Belgrade's effort to cultivate a loyal political clientele. Between 70,000 and 200,000 Serbs -- according to Pristina and Belgrade estimates respectively -- fled Kosovo after the 1998-99 war. Belgrade demands that they are allowed to return home and compensated for their lost property. Serbia also wants reparations for the relatives of those who are still missing from the war. Kosovo, for its part, is considering demanding compensation for war damages caused by Serb forces. The International Commission on Missing Persons estimates that there are still 1,700 missing persons from the conflict. The two sides are also tussling for ownership of assets from when they were part of the same country under former Yugoslavia. Serbia still claims ownership of the Trepca mining complex near Mitrovica and the artificial lake of Gazivode, known as "Ujman" among Kosovo Albanians. Both are mainly in Kosovo territory and are crucial to its water and energy supplies. Kosovo is also asking for its share of Yugoslav-era public assets, such as gold deposited in banks abroad, and real estate such as embassies. In 2018 Serbia and Kosovo's presidents drew a frenzy of media attention -- and criticism -- for suggestions that border changes could be part of an eventual accord. Neither side fully laid out the details. But analysts and media speculated that a Serb-dominated part of northern Kosovo could be given to Belgrade in exchange for Serbia's southern Presevo Valley, home mainly to ethnic Albanians. Rights groups and other critics have lambasted the idea, saying such a trade would deepen ethnic segregation and could have a dangerous domino effect in the fragile Balkans. ih-mbs-ssm/txw
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