Ljubljana - Commenting on Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti sitting at the same table, Dnevnik says on Friday that NATO, which cannot afford another conflict, is again an insurance policy of the EU in Kosovo if it fails to put the nationalist genie back in the bottle.

Kurti and Vučić meeting after more than a year would be a success for the international community if this did not happen under duress after the sparks of the postponed conflict were reignited at the end of July, the newspaper says.

It adds that the EU, which after many years of stagnation in the accession process because of its own enlargement fatigue and the reluctance of political elites to reform, has become an observer of negative trends in the region and is again in crisis mode.

According to Dnevnik, the fundamental goal of the talks is not to achieve a final breakthrough, but rather to prevent a new flare-up in the shadow of the war in Ukraine, which may further weaken the EU in its backyard.

"And NATO, which cannot afford another conflict, is once again its insurance policy if the nationalist genie cannot be put back in the bottle," the paper says, noting that Kosovo has remained a frozen conflict and a prisoner of some other era.

Serbia as the strongest economic and military power in the Western Balkans has been at a standstill for years in its EU accession efforts because the price is well known - the recognition of Kosovo's independence.

Although Vučić is aware of this price, he is not ready to pay it, maintaining the false hope that Kosovo is not lost yet and that it will be won back one day, perhaps with the help of Russia, which is pursuing a destabilising policy in the region.

Kosovo has not moved from the deadlock either, with five EU member states still do not recognising it as a country, so there is no more room for indecision, as the "clock is ticking louder than in previous years".

There is less than two weeks until Kosovo is expected to start implementing the decision on the use of Kosovo registration plates and personal documents for all residents, Dnevnik says, noting that Vučić and Kurti not insulting each other because an agreement has not been reached is at least one positive signal from yesterday's meeting.