From Aleksandar Vasovic, Reuters:  Serbia and its former province of Kosovo struck an historic accord on Friday to settle relations, potentially setting Belgrade on the path to membership of the European Union in a major milestone in the region’s recovery from the collapse of Yugoslavia.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the prime ministers of both sides had initialled an agreement during talks in Brussels, at the culmination of six months of delicate negotiations and more than a decade of deep animosity since Kosovo broke away in war. . . .

The pact is expected to tackle the ethnic partition of Kosovo since its 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia, and open the door to greater international integration of the young state, which Serbia does not recognise.

From BBC:  The deal was reached after months of tense negotiations between Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci in Brussels.

"The negotiations have concluded. The text has been initialled by both prime ministers," said the EU’s top diplomat, Catherine Ashton, who mediated the talks.  (photo: Francois Lenoir/Reuters)