LUXEMBOURG
Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on Monday said that EU foreign ministers are concerned about checkpoints seized by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on the border of Jordan and Syria.
Ashton said that she will discuss the latest developments in Iraq on Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry after he makes his visit to Iraqi capital Baghdad Monday. Kerry will visit for talks to urge Iraq's Shiite prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, to form a more inclusive government as the Sunni militant insurgency continues to expand control over more territories across the country.
She also shared the Foreign ministers's concerns regarding Ukraine and the escalating violence, adding that she did not expect Russia to act on the Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) between Ukraine, European Union, Georgia and Moldova.
The unrest and ongoing protests in Ukraine were triggered in November when President Yanukovych refused to sign the "Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement" (DCFTA) offered by the EU. The DCFTA was aimed at acting as a springboard for Ukraine to become closer to the 28-member bloc, with the possibility of full membership in the future.
Ukraine’s military and pro-Russia separatists have been engaged in constant fighting for more than two months in Donetsk and Lugansk where pro-Russian sentiments are running high among the ethnic Russian community.
www.aa.com.tr/en
