Jennifer Brush, director of the Bureau of South East European Affairs at the U.S. State Department, said in Washington, that the U.S. opposed the partitioning of Kosovo and saw the idea as being both unrealistic and dangerous.

Brush told reporters from Serbia that the idea of dividing the territory along ethnic lines was dangerous, adding that partitioning as a solution had lost all credibility after Kosovo's declaration of independence.

Kosovo has been recognized by 75 countries and I am sure that the Kosovo authorities will never accept the idea of a division, Brush said, adding that she was surprised that the option was being discussed at all in Serbia.

Brush said that Serbia was doing itself and the entire region a disservice by skipping major international economic conferences because of the presence of representatives from Kosovo. This is causing Serbia and the rest of the region to lose important investments, she said.

The U.S. official also said that the BelgradePristina dialog should be prioritized, and that she expected the talks to yield important results.