EU to Discuss Syria, Russia, Kosovo <http://www.alalam.ir/english/en-newspageprnt.asp?newsid=0320301200803260856 06> BRUSSEL, March 26--Syria, Russia and Kosovo are set to dominate the agenda on Friday when the European Union's foreign ministers hold an informal meeting in Slovenia. The meeting is set to begin with a working lunch on Syria's role in the Middle East peace process, according to the invitation sent by Slovenia's Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel. The traditional meeting is aimed at giving EU ministers a chance to discuss key issues without the political pressure to come to immediate decisions. No lasting peace and stability in the region is thinkable without this state, Rupel said. We should discuss its role in the peace process, its involvement in Lebanon, its relations with Iran, and its influence on some of the resistance groups, the Slovenian foreign minister added. The representatives of the EU's 27 member states are then set to discuss relations with Russia in the light of the recent election of Dmitry Medvedev as the country's new president. The relationship between the EU and its main energy supplier have taken a sharp downturn in recent years, with a deal on political cooperation blocked over issues such as Russia's ban on Polish food exports and its closure of a key oil pipeline to Lithuania. On Saturday, the ministers are set to turn their attention to the troubled situation in the Western Balkans, where the secession of Kosovo has poisoned relations with Serbia and led to violent clashes in the Kosovo Serb stronghold of Mitrovica. Ministers are first to hold an "internal debate on the importance of consolidating peace and enhancing stability and security in the region." EU's special representatives to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Kosovo will take part in the debate. The ministers are then set to bring the foreign ministers of the Western Balkan states in to the talks to discuss ways of "enhancing the European perspective" of the region. The EU tries to convey the message it thinks all the Western Balkan states should join the bloc one day. That session could well be fiery, as Serbia bitterly resents most EU members' support for Kosovo's independence. The meeting is set to conclude with a working lunch between EU ministers and their counterparts from the countries which are candidates for membership: Croatia, Turkey and Macedonia. EU foreign affairs ministers are seen in a meeting held in October 2007 in Luxembourg.
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