Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Feb. 25 that the membership of all Western Balkan countries was key for EU stability, adding that disagreement over the future of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the status of Kosovo were the two main problems in the region.

"Strict insistence on the centralization of Bosnia and the secession of Kosovo 'regardless of the consequences' is superficial and unsustainable. It dismisses the legitimate interests of countries such as Serbia as irrelevant variables in the regional equation," Jeremic said in a speech at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.

In the speech, also delivered to the media, Jeremic added that it was perhaps even more important that "such an approach does not pass the test of democratic legitimacy."

The foreign minister reiterated that Serbia respects the integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina and recalled the authorities' concrete steps toward reconciliation, such as President Boris Tadic's visit to Srebrenica and his apology to the victims.

"Serbia is also cooperating fully with the Hague tribunal and we are doing all we can to locate, arrest and extradite the remaining two fugitives. Finally, our parliament will soon start debating a historic resolution on Srebrenica that will unambiguously condemn the crime committed there," he stressed.

Jeremic also said that Serbia shares the same views with the U.S. on the universal values of democracy, which provides grounds for a common vision of the future.

That is why, as he put it, the U.S. is the key factor on the world stage, as well as in the Western Balkans. According to Jeremic, the U.S. could play a key role in overcoming all disputes in the region in a manner acceptable to all.

Vuk Jeremic is currently on a two-day visit to the U.S. The Foreign Ministry said that Jeremic will meet with officials of the Organisation of American States and Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon, Congressman Bill Delahunt and Senator Benjamin Cardin.