US Vice President Joe Biden left Belgrade for Pristina in May 2009, wrapping up a three-country Balkan tour that also included stops in Bosnia and Serbia. His arrival in Kosovo made him the most senior American official to visit since the territory's ethnic Albanian parliament declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.
In Belgrade, Biden sought to ease tensions by telling reporters alongside Serbian President Boris Tadic that Washington was not asking Belgrade to recognize Kosovo's independence. Even so, he made clear the Obama administration had no intention of revisiting the US decision to recognize Kosovo, calling its independence irreversible and vital to regional stability.
Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci predicted a grand reception for Biden in Pristina, where welcoming billboards and crowds of students were expected to line the route of his convoy.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2009, in its own words.