The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Thursday that the time has come for the leaders in Belgrade and Pristina as well as entire Western Balkans to show courage and move forward to normalize relations.

“This is the time for the leaders of Kosovo, Serbia and of the entire Western Balkans to show courage, and to demonstrate shared responsibility for the success of the EU accession process of the region,” Borrell said in a blog post.

According to him, Serbia and Kosovo need to normalize relations in order to open the path to EU membership. “There is no way around it. The EU has been doing its part and the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue a central part of my mandate,” he wrote adding that his envoy Miroslav Lajcak has been tasked with accelerating the process.

“Now is the time to focus on the bigger picture and not allow another window of opportunity to close in front of the eyes of the people of the region, as has happened a few times in recent history. It is now the time for Serbia and Kosovo to agree on the Implementation annex, which is an integral part of the Agreement and share a clear understanding on how to put in place their provisions,” he said.

“The EU is not a simple note-taker nor is it a party in the Dialogue: we are and remain the facilitator in this Dialogue. The EU is the eventual home for Serbia and Kosovo,” he added.

“The Western Balkans are part of Europe. And they are certainly not a chip to be used by Putin in his imperialistic dreams,” Borrell wrote in his blog post.