Ashton to visit on Wednesday, no meetings with party leaders!

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Baroness Catherine Ashton, will visit Sarajevo on Wednesday and talk to representatives of state institutions and civil society, but not political leaders, a diplomatic source from Brussels confirmed to the BH news agency Patria (NAP).

Ashton had previously planned to visit BiH, but the visit was postponed due to the crisis in Ukraine. However, as we were unofficially confirmed, the visit is now planned for Wednesday. 

Meetings are expected at the Presidency of BiH and the Council of Ministers, and talks with representatives of civil society. Baroness Ashton's spokesperson, Maja Kocijančič, briefly stated in a statement to NAP that she cannot officially confirm the date of the visit yet. However, unofficial sources emphasize that everything has already been agreed upon.

However, Ashton, as clarified for NAP, will not come to Sarajevo to present the European Union's new approach to BiH. On the contrary, she will arrive to talk with the political leadership and citizens, ahead of the discussion on BiH at the EU Foreign Affairs Council, which is scheduled for the second half of March in Brussels. The new approach will only be discussed at that session. 

- Her visit primarily relates to the preparation for those talks with the foreign ministers of the member states. She wants to see the situation on the ground and the mood of the citizens and representatives of institutions for herself - states NAP's source.