Biden: Kosovo's independence is a US priority

He also said any move to partition the province would be "unacceptable".

"The success of an independent Kosovo is a priority for our administration," Biden said in a speech that received several standing ovations from Kosovo Albanian MPs.

"Kosovo's independence was and remains today in my view, in the view of my government, the only viable option for stability in the region," he said.

"And your independence - as I've said in the countries I have visited - your independence, is irreversible, absolutely irreversible," he added to applause from the ethnic Albanian-dominated assembly.

Biden, a staunch advocate of Kosovo's independence, arrived in the Pristina on Thursday to a warm welcome from thousands of cheering Kosovan Albanians who lined the road from the airport holding flowers and waving American flags.

The atmosphere was markedly different from the tight security and protests that greeted Biden on Wednesday during his visit to the Serbian capital, Belgrade.

In Pristina, Biden met its president Fatmir Sejdiu, prime minister Hasim Taci and other senior officials.

The US, and Biden himself, have spearheaded a campaign for Kosovo independence and Washington was among the first 60 countries that recognised it.

At the end of his visit to Kosovo, Biden flew by helicopter to visit US soldiers in the Bondsteel military base in Urosevac, south of Pristina.