Serbian officials meet with Clinton and Ashton

Source: B92

BELGRADE -- U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton and EU foreign and security policy chief Catherine Ashton are meeting with President Tomislav Nikolić.

(Tanjug)

They are also on Tuesday in Belgrade conferring with Prime Minister Ivica Dačić.
The meeting is being held behind closed doors, but the participants will address reporters afterwards.

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Ahead of the visit, Ashton's spokesperson Maja Kocijacić said that the visit "represents an expression of joint support for integrations, and especially for the Belgrade-Priština dialogue".

In Belgrade, former head of the government office for EU integration Milica Delević said the visit was meant to encourage the new government to approach the dialogue and the process of integrations with a great degree of seriousness.

Meanwhile, the Serbian police - some 4,000 of them - are being deployed along the route from the airport to the Palace of Serbia.

Security measure were raised to the highest level, while the citizens have been warned to expect traffic jams.

An unknown number of U.S. FBI service are also providing security, it has been reported..

On Monday evening in Belgrade, right-wing organizations held a peaceful protest against the visit of Hillary Clinton, while the Serb Radicals (SRS) announced another protest in front of the Serbian Presidency for Tuesday.

Clinton and Ashton arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday evening, it has been reported.