Serbian, Finnish FMs talk EU bid, Ukraine

Serbian, Finnish FMs talk EU bid, Ukraine

Helsinki -- Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja on Thursday met with Serbian counterpart Ivica Dačić,and "commended Serbia's progress on the path towards the EU."

After the meeting in Helsinki, he added that Finland was "looking forward to the day when the agreement on Serbia's EU accession will be signed."

In a joint press conference, Tuomioja expressed hope that the negotiating chapters will be opened soon and closed as promptly as possible.

Noting that the Finnish-Serbian relations are friendly and on an upward path, and with no open issues, Dačić thanked Finland on its support to Serbia in the European integration process.

Dačić also announced that Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić is scheduled to visit Finland in January.

"Our economic relations are on the rise as well. There are several major Finnish investments in Serbia and we expect the level of economic cooperation to increase further in years to come," said Dačić.

Dačić once again stressed that the EU membership is a priority for Serbia, adding that the country will align its legislation and policies with the EU by the end of accession talks.

"However, our EU integration policy is not at odds with our good relations with non-EU members that are our traditional friends. In saying this, I am referring not only to Russia, but also to China and many Asian, African and Latin American countries," said Dačić, adding that good relations with those countries do not affect the EU in a negative way.

"I believe that, ahead of Serbia's OSCE chairmanship next year, this is also our advantage, because it gives us the credibility to engage in a dialogue, with...