Clinton and Ashton arrived from Belgrade last night and in the morning held talks with Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.
Speaking afterwards at a joint news conference, Clinton pointed to the importance of continuing dialogue with Serbia, welcoming a recent meeting between Thaci and Serbian PM Ivica Dacic in Brussels.
Dialogue is important, it guarantees long term prosperity. We are working together with the EU in that regard and I would like to personally applaud Prime Minister Thaci, who had the political courage to meet with Prime Minister Dacic in Brussels. That was a brave move, Clinton said.
She commended Kosovo's leadership and highlighted Jahjaga's commitment to the country's democratic progress and Euro-Atlantic integration processes.
Clinton said the US urged both sides to continue implementing agreements and to define new ones necessary for progress in relations between Serbia and Kosovo.
She stressed the US would not accept Kosovo's independence being brought into question or talks on changing borders.
We are against any talks on changing borders or raising the issue of Kosovo's independence again. There can be no talk of that, Clinton reiterated what she said in Belgrade yesterday.
She said Kosovo had made big progress in a short time and, together with Ashton, supported Kosovo's aspirations to integrate into the EU and NATO.
Ashton said all countries in the region should continue moving on the road towards EU integration.
Dialogue is not easy for the prime minister of either Kosovo or Serbia. The aim of this dialogue is to build a better life for all citizens, including those in the north (of Kosovo). That can be accomplished also with open and free talks. Thaci and Dacic showed courage to meet in Brussels, she said.
In talks with Kosovo officials, Ashton said Kosovo and Serbia had a clear prospect of EU integration and that the two countries should show their commitment on that road by meeting requirements and normalising relations.
Thaci said he assured Ashton and Clinton that Kosovo would meet the EU and NATO integration requirements. He said the Kosovo leadership was willing to work on attractive projects for north Kosovo, reiterating that the presence of Serbian bodies there caused a lot of difficulties.
In her talks with Clinton and Ashton, Jahjaga said dialogue was the only way to solve outstanding issues and build good neighbourly relations as one of the prerequisites for EU membership.
She welcomed the Thaci-Dacic meeting in Brussels as an important step in the normalisation of relations. She stressed that dialogue should be focused and time-restricted to give long term results and strengthen Kosovo's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Jahjaga said Kosovo's leadership had the best offer for the Serb community and its integration into Kosovo's institutions and that it should benefit it, the president's office said in a statement.