Defence Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Saturday met with his Serbian counterpart Dragan Sutanovac during a working lunch at the Thessaloniki Officers' Club.

The two ministers discussed bilateral cooperation, in the wake of similar contacts previously on the occasion of a visit to Greece by the president of Serbia.

Venizelos noted that Greece facilitate Serbia's accession to Euro-Atlantic institutions, while reiterated Athens' support for Serbia's European and Euro-Atlantic prospects, along with all other western Balkan countries.

In reference to Kosovo, Venizelos stressed that Greece is present in Kosovo because it wants to contribute to regional stability.

"We hope that a solution, within the framework of international law, will be reached that will be acceptable to all, and certainly acceptable by Serbia, which has a well-known historical interest for this region."

On his part, Sutanovac praised Athens' clear-cut position, which he called a position of principle on the most important issue for Serbia in the current period.

"We are experiencing and will continue to experience a difficult period," he said. The Serbian DM nevertheless said he believes that with the contribution of all parties, including Greece, peace and stability can be achieved not only in Kosovo and Serbia but throughout the region.