British foreign minister to visit Belgrade

Hague has already arrived in Priština where he will have meetings with Pristina officials.

Hague will meet with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Deputy PMs Aleksandar Vucic and Suzana Grubjesic in Belgrade.

The British minister is visiting Belgrade as a part of his visit to the region and to encourage Serbian leaders to work on normalization of relations with Kosovo and fulfill criteria for the EU accession.

"Hague wants to encourage Serbian leaders, especially after positive assessment of the meeting between Serbian and Kosovo PMs in Brussels, to continue and direct their energy and attention toward further progress when it comes to the normalization of relations with Kosovo," British Ambassador to Serbia Michael Davenport told Beta news agency.

Hague visited Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday and then went to Kosovo where he was welcomed by Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj. He met with Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga on Wednesday evening to discuss current issues, democratic processes and Britain's involvement in the Balkans, especially in Kosovo.

Jahjaga's office has stated that Hague said that Great Britain was "Kosovo's partner and friend" and that it would continue to support and help its consolidation.

Hague is expected to meet with Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci and his deputy Slobodan Petrović on Thursday.