The situation in Ukraine is “so fluid that the only thing we can say with certainty is that all parties, inside and outside the country, must implement the Geneva agreements of 17 April”. The comment was made by Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, who defined the agreements as “the only pathway for the country: for its unity, its internal peace and its democratic and economic development”. Speaking in the margins of the annual American and European progressive governance conference in Amsterdam, Minister Mogherini launched “an appeal to all parties, inside and outside the country, to act with the utmost responsibility and moderation and to implement the Geneva agreements”.
Middle East: Concern but Hamas-Fatah dialogue heals a wound
The situation in the Middle East is “extremely worrying” for Minister Mogherini. Like Catherine Ashton, she views the rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas as “a positive dialogue that heals a wound within the Palestinian people, a wound that has lasted far too long. It paves the way for a process of democratic elections for the Palestinians, which will be a good thing. But it’s clear”, she added, that the new government must respect the agreements and above all “recognise the state of Israel”.
“It’s also clear”, continued Minister Mogherini, “that this process cannot be seen as an alternative to the process of dialogue with Israel”. The dialogue between the West Bank and Gaza, she warned, “could be, and must be made, compatible with dialogue with Israel. Because the only possible solution is a negotiated solution. We hope that the Palestinian authorities, the authorities of today and of the future, accept the invitation to recognise the state of Israel, as the Palestinian National Authority already does, and to maintain the commitments it has undertaken with respect to the peace process. And we hope that the Israeli government accepts the invitations to continue the dialogue that are being extended by the European Union and others”.
