The U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday said that the U.S. and EU are Serbia’s friends, but that Kosovo’s development as an independent state must be allowed.

In a joint press conference in Washington, with German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, Rice said, “Both the U.S. and Germany have recognized Kosovo. We want a stable Balkans where Serbs will understand that they have good friends in the U.S. and the EU, but we must allow the development of Kosovo as an independent state.”

Steinmeier said that the Balkans needed to be stable, and that in this respect, Kosovo’s stability was vital, which, according to him, was not such an easy task,

The German foreign minister said, “Obviously, at the moment, the key question is Kosovo’s stability in the Balkans, which is not such an easy task. Particularly, now ahead of parliamentary elections in Serbia, when the nationalists are trying to exploit this, and upset the pro-European atmosphere in Serbia. I hope that that idea won’t materialize.”