Washington, Jumada II 10, 1434, Apr 20, 2013, SPA - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday congratulated Serbia and Kosovo for reaching an agreement on the normalization of their relations, after months of talks brokered by the European Union. “This agreement on principles for normalization of relations required compromise and political courage from both sides, and I applaud the governments of Kosovo and Serbia for making the hard decisions that will move them closer to their goals of European integration,” Kerry said in a State Department statement. “I encourage both countries now to implement expeditiously and fully all dialogue agreements reached to date, so that all of those living in Kosovo and Serbia can continue to build a more peaceful and prosperous future,” the statement said. “The United States will remain deeply committed to seeing the people of Serbia, Kosovo, and the entire region realize their aspirations of integration into a Europe free, whole, and at peace,” the statement concluded. --SPA 11:00 LOCAL TIME 08:00 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1100684