Serbia's "essential role" in resolving Ukraine crisis

Serbia's "essential role" in resolving Ukraine crisis

BELGRADE -- French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said Serbia will "play an essential role" in resolving the crisis in Ukraine, when it assumed OSCE presidency in 2015.

"As a candidate country for the EU, it will be a carrier of the values ​​that we share, and its historic ties with Russia, which remains an unavoidable partner, will certainly contribute to its activities being more efficient," he told the Belgrade daily Politika.

On the eve of a two-day visit to Serbia, Valls noted said that "Russia should mediate in the crisis in Ukraine."

"We are counting on Moscow and on Kiev so that the Minsk agreements are fully implemented and so that extremist and aggressive elements are sent the right message," he emphasized.

Valls added that his country will "actively support" the opening of one chapter in the negotiations on Serbia's membership in the EU this year, and said that it could be the one on financial control.

He said that several members of the European Union "attach particular importance to the pace of normalization of relations with Kosovo," but that this dialogue is suffering because of the political situation in Priština.