(ZAGREB) - France wants Serbia to accept Kosovo's independence declaration and focus on Belgrade's integration in the European Union, a minister said in an interview published here on Wednesday.

"The existence of an independent Kosovo is now a reality. We understand that it could cause difficulties to some, notably Serbia," France's minister for European affairs, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, told the newspaper Vecernji List.

"But we call on them to face the reality and turn towards the future, which is undoubtedly within Europe," he stressed.

Jouyet said the European Union was "determined" to make the "recognition of Kosovo a factor of stability in the region."

France was among the first countries to recognise Kosovo's independence from Serbia after it was unilaterally proclaimed on February 17.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday called on members of the bloc to allow Belgrade to sign a rapprochement accord with the EU before Serbian elections on May 11.

But the deal has been blocked by Belgium and the Netherlands, which insist Belgrade hand over war crimes fugitives including Ratko Mladic, a former Bosnian Serb general who is believed to be hiding in Serbia.

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