ForMin Corlatean, EU's Ashton discuss European affairs, Middle East, eastern neighbourhood

The European affairs, the situation in Middle East, the eastern neighbourhood of the European Union and the situation in Ukraine were among the topics discussed on Thursday in a plenary session within the Annual Meeting of the Romanian Diplomacy with the participation of Foreign Affairs Minister Titus Corlatean and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton.

In a joint press statement with Ashton, Corlatean mentioned her involvement in the files related to the EU expansion, especially as regards the eastern neighbourhood.

'From our perspective — Bucharest's perspective — the Serbia-Kosovo agreement is one of the greatest achievements of the European Union, and here the contribution of the high representative was essential,' Corlatean said.

In her turn, Ashton appreciated the collaboration with the Romanian foreign minister and his political contribution to the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU.

She briefly revised the challenges faced by the European Union as regards its foreign policy; she mentioned the situation in Iraq and Syria, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As regards the eastern neighbourhood, Asthon appreciated the presence of the foreign affairs ministers of the Republic of Moldova and of Georgia at the Romanian Diplomacy Meeting in Bucharest.

The European official also mentioned her attendance of the talks between Russia and Ukraine in Minsk, Belarus; she pointed out that the European Union believes in dialogue as a way of settling problems.AGERPRES