After talks with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, Ashton praised the progress achieved in the Belgrade-Pristina talks so far, saying she was pleased to have been able to point out to EU member countries the concrete results of the implementation of the April 19 Brussels agreement.

Ashton said she was pleased that Serbia was preparing for EU membership negotiations at an accelerated pace, adding that she would meet with the prime ministers of Serbia and Kosovo in the coming weeks and months, and that there would be no summer recess because progress must be shown, Serbian media reported on Tuesday night.

Nikolic said "Serbia is continuing to meet at the same pace the undertaken EU commitments as well as those to its citizens."

At a joint press conference with Ashton, Nikolic said he and his associates had pointed out to her again that Serbia would never recognise Kosovo's independence, to which she said that the EU knew that and that nobody was asking Serbia to recognise Kosovo.

Nikolic said there was open communication with Kosovo institutions, but that there were two positions - the Serbian position that Kosovo was autonomous, and the other position that Kosovo was independent.

He said Serbia and Kosovo would probably never have been able to agree without the EU and that "hardly anyone can now remove Serbia from its European path."

PM Dacic said Belgrade and Pristina should continue to discuss all topics of interest to citizens, but added that the continuation of dialogue "in no way means that the agreement is going in the direction of a legally binding document" or "recognition of Kosovo."

He voiced confidence that Serbia would be the next country to join the EU.

On Wednesday, Ashton is due to meet with Kosovo officials in Pristina.