Budapest, December 13 (MTI) - Hungary advocates that NATO should invite Albania to its memberships at its next summit meeting in Romania next year, Defence Minister Imre Szekeres told his Albanian counterpart Fatmir Mediu in Budapest on Thursday.

The minister called it important that the Adriatic countries fulfilling the membership criteria should be admitted to the North Atlantic alliance.

Albania's accession to NATO would greatly enhance stability in the Balkans and Europe as a whole, he said.

To promote Albania's NATO entry, Hungary is prepared to open a military attache office in Tirana, and transfer its experience in the accession process.

Hungary highly appreciates Albania's constructive contribution to resolving the Kosovo issue, and regrets the failure of negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade, Szekeres said.

The Hungarian minister said the massive emigration of Serbs from Kosovo would be an unfavourable and unacceptable phenomenon for Hungary, especially if they head toward Vojvodina, a North Serbian province with an ethnic Hungarian minority.

Hungary invariably intends to take part in military missions in the Balkans, he said. For the time being, 471 Hungarian soldiers are deployed in Kosovo whom the minister will visit this weekend.

The Albanian minister thanked Hungary for supporting the region, and emphasised that the presence of Hungarian troops had greatly contributed to stability in the Balkans.