Visiting the city of Pristina on Saturday night, Greece's Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas met Kosovo's leadership and emphasised Athens' position supporting the accession of the entire Western Balkan region to the European Union, as expressed by its 'Agenda 2014' initiative.

During the visit he held talks with the Kosovo administration's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and its president Fatmir Sejdiu.

"The important thing is that all the member-states of the Union - all 27 of them - agree on a very important point, that this region has clear European prospects and that the future of the entire region lies [within Europe]. We, as Greece, are proud that we belong to those countries that have promoted and continue to promote this idea of a European future for the region," he said in a joint press conference after meeting with Thaci.

Droutsas also emphasised that Greece could play a special role in this direction as a country that was part of the region. He particularly highlighted the potential contribution of Prime Minister George Papandreou, saying that Papandreou's personal relations with Serb President Boris Tadic and Thaci could contribute to an open dialogue between the two sides.

Asked whether Greece intended to recognise Kosovo as an independent state, following the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion in favour of Kosovo's independence, Droutsas said that this was a decision taken by each country by itself and again emphasised the need to look at the region's European future.