Serbian government approves EU-brokered deal to normalize ties with rival Kosovo

BELGRADE, Serbia – The Serbian government has approved a potentially landmark agreement to normalize relations with breakaway Kosovo that could end years of tensions and put the Balkan rivals on a path to European Union membership.

Government spokesman Milivoje Mihajlovic said Monday that the government approved the deal unanimously and ordered ministries to implement it.

The prime ministers of Serbia and Kosovo reached a tentative EU-mediated deal Friday that would give Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership authority over rebel Kosovo Serbs. In return, the minority Serbs would get wide autonomy within Kosovo.

The agreement has triggered outrage among Serb nationalists.

Kosovo, considered the medieval cradle of the Serbian state, declared independence in 2008.