During his talks with Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic, the US official said that talks on the future status of Kosovo could start already next month after a meeting of the international Contact Group, which is scheduled to take place in Washington on 2 November.
According to a Foreign Ministry statement, the position of the United States is that a solution to the Kosovo issue should be reached through a compromise between Belgrade and Pristina and the international community in the interests of all the people of Kosovo and the stability of the entire region.
Draskovic was quoted as blaming "political parties and structures of the former regime wishing to return to power" for failure to locate, arrest and hand over the remaining war crimes suspects sought by the Hague tribunal.
After the talks with Draskovic, Burns met Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic.
On Thursday evening, upon arrival from Pristina, Burns met Serbian President Boris Tadic.