Serbia blames Kosovo for failed EU-mediated talks

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic speaks during a press conference after talks with his Montenegro's counterpart Dusko Markovic, at the Serbia Palace in Belgrade, Serbia, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. Vucic has accused Kosovo for the collapse of EU-mediated talks as tensions escalated in the Balkans. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) (The Associated Press)

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Kosovo president Hashim Thaci, center left, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg walk in the main square of Kosovo's capital Pristina on Friday, Jan. 3, 2017. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is in one day official visit to Kosovo. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) (The Associated Press)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic reviews the honor guard during a welcoming ceremony for Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, at the Serbia Palace in Belgrade, Serbia, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. Vucic has accused Kosovo for the collapse of EU-mediated talks as tensions escalated in the Balkans. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) (The Associated Press)

BELGRADE, Serbia – Serbia's prime minister has blamed Kosovo for the collapse of EU-mediated talks as tensions escalate in the Balkans.

Aleksandar Vucic said Friday the Kosovo leaders' "only goal" is to storm into Serb-populated northern Kosovo. "They don't want any agreement."

Vucic's comments follow a Brussels meeting on Wednesday between the Serbian and Kosovo presidents and prime ministers that was convened by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. The meeting finished abruptly and no further session has been planned.

Tensions have been building since December when Kosovo Serbs erected a wall at a bridge in the divided town of Mitrovica, seen as a provocation by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority.

Serbia's president has warned of an armed intervention if Kosovo Serbs are "jeopardized." Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but Serbia has not recognized it as a separate country.