FILE - Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci is seen during an interview with The Associated Press in Washington, in this April 6, 2012 file photo. Thaci said in an interview with the Associated Press Friday Sept. 28, 2012 that Kosovo and Serbia must normalize relations soon to begin integrating with Europe, but he insists that partition of his country’s Serb-dominated northern enclave “will never happen.” (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Kosovo's flag does not fly at the United Nations, where Thaci met with EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso and U.S. officials on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly ministerial meeting.
The European Union is trying to broker talks next month between Kosovo and Serbia, which also wants to join the bloc. The EU is expected to push for a resolution on Kosovo's tense north, where the young country has little control over ethnic Serbs who suffered reprisal attacks after the province broke away from Serbia and reject the authority of the ethnic Albanian-dominated government in Pristina.
"Kosovo is determined for dialogue with Serbia, for normalization of relations," Thaci said in an interview Friday with The Associated Press. "Kosovo will benefit, Serbia will benefit. It will mean an end to the era of conflicts in the region and a faster process of integration of all countries."
The nation of about 2 million people, predominantly ethnic Albanians of Muslim faith, belongs to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, but cannot have its own telephone prefix because it does not belong to the United Nations. The International Olympic Committee rejected its bid to participate in this summer's London Olympics, but FIFA has ruled that its members can play soccer matches against Kosovo.
Over 90 countries have recognized Kosovo's independence, including much of Europe, and the number will soon top 100, Thaci said.
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