The United Kingdom said it was against changes of borders in the Balkans and that Belgrade and Pristina should resolve the issue in mutual recognition, the Belgrade-based news agencies reported on Friday.

British Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson said on Thursday that “the normalisation of the relations between Serbia and Kosovo is crucial for safety, stability and progress of these countries and the wider region,” the website Politico reported.

 “This government believes that it should be the base for the recognition of the independent states within their existing borders,” the spokesperson said.

London thus joined Berlin in opposing the changes of the border between Serbia and Kosovo.

However, Chancellor Angela Merkel eases up a bit, saying she supports all negotiations leading toward the normalisation of relations, but that the territorial integrity has a substantial weight.

John Bolton, the White House national security advisor, said last week that the US did not oppose the border correction between Kosovo and Serbia.

The European Union then noted that Belgrade and Pristina should have enough room to agree on the content of an agreement.

Earlier, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said he had favoured the demarcation with the Albanians, while his Kosovo’s counterpart Hashim Thaci insisted that the annexation of Serbia’s southern region of Presevo Valley, mostly populated by the ethnic Albanians, should be on the agenda of the Belgrade – Pristina dialogue scheduled to continue early next month in Brussels.

However, former High Representative to Bosnia, Paddy Ashdown, criticised the idea of border changes, saying it was dangerous and helpful to those who want to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He added that the only one who could benefit from the border changes was the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who could use it in his handling of the Ukraine issue.