Ashton: Belgrade-Pristina dialogue example to region

BRUSSELS - EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton commended on Thursday participants of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, saying they are an example to the entire region of the Western Balkans.

"I really hope that what has been achieved between Pristina and Belgrade will serve as inspiration and give momentum to others in the Western Balkans," Ashton said, addressing members of the European Parliament in a debate on foreign and defense policy.

"It will be particularly important to help Bosnia and Herzegovina embark on a similar journey, and my recent visit there received the same message I'm giving now," she said.

Ashton drew MEPs' attention to the fact that she facilitated 23 rounds of the dialogue, total of 230 hours, noting that all credit for that goes to the courageous leaders on both sides (Belgrade and Pristina).

"In concrete terms, we have seen the successful holding of local elections across the whole of Kosovo, and the integration of security and justice structures into the Kosovo legal framework," she said, adding that "the dialogue will become more and more part of both parties' integration paths".

The EU's foreign policy chief dedicated much of her speech to Russia, saying that it violated Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, contravened the international law and its own international commitments.

"We will not recognize the annexation of Crimea or the referendum that took place there as legitimate," Ashton said.
"The UN General Assembly has also agreed on a resolution calling the Moscow-backed referendum that led to this annexation illegal," she underscored.

At the end of her speech, Ashton thanked the Parliament for its...