BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Serbia and Kosovo to secure a "historic" deal that would bring "long-sought" peace to the Balkan region.

The office of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday published a letter he received from Trump, in which the president says "I encourage you to seize this moment and to exercise the political leadership in making decisions needed to balance the interests of both countries."

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci received a similar letter from Trump.

Serbia and its former province Kosovo have been conducting EU-sponsored talks at normalizing relations after Kosovo declared independence in 2008.

Trump says the U.S. stands ready to assist and that he is looking forward to hosting the two presidents in the White House "to celebrate what would be an historic accord."