Kosovo’s president and prime minister told the Berlin Summit on Monday that Serbia has to recognise Kosovo in its current borders, adding that reconciliation will be impossible as long as Serbia and Bosnia refuse to recognise Kosovo.

Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said that no progress can be made without mutual recognition. “Today’s reality is that Kosovo is an independent state. That is the reality that has to be recognised to move forward. Serbia has to recognise the independence and sovereignty of Kosovo,” Haradinaj said, adding that recognition is the starting, not the final point.

“There can be no progress without mutual recognition and respect. When that happens we won’t need trade barriers on either side. A review of borders will bring a new wave of ethnic divisions and perhaps the start of the violence. We have a need for unity, not divisions. We have the need to open our borders not create new ones,” he said. Haradinaj pledged to help the Kosovo Serbs improve their living conditions.

President Hashim Thaci said that reconciliation in the region is impossible unless Serbia and Bosnia recognise Kosovo as independent.

“Reconciliation will be impossible as long as Serbia and Bosnia refuse to recognise Kosovo. Germany and France have an opportunity and the leadership to motivate such a bold decision,” he wrote on his Facebook profile.

According to Thaci, relations in the region are at their lowest ever level. “This bad situation can’t be overcome with abstract statements and promises. We need a bold strategic decision by the states of the region which won’t come without a bold strategic decision by the European Union and its member states,” he said.