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EU Commemorates Srebrenica Massacre, Names EU Integration Path to Reconciliation

© AP Photo / Amel EmricGravestones are seen at sunrise at a memorial complex near Srebrenica, 150 kilometers (94 miles) northeast of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Saturday, July 11, 2015
Gravestones are seen at sunrise at a memorial complex near Srebrenica, 150 kilometers (94 miles) northeast of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Saturday, July 11, 2015 - Sputnik International
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EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn on Tuesday commemorated the 22nd anniversary of the massacre in Srebrenica and pointed to EU accession talks as the path toward reconciliation in the Balkans.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In July 1995, more than 8,000 Muslim Bosniaks were killed in the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina amid the 1990s Yugoslav Wars.

“As we commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, our hearts and our thoughts are with victims and their surviving families and friends. Today, we honor the victims,” the joint statement on the EU External Action website said.

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The efforts to restore respect for human dignity were the key part of the Western Balkan countries’ EU integration process, Mogherini and Hahn noted.

“The values so dramatically violated 22 years ago – such as respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality – are now at the core of our engagement with Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens on the country’s EU integration path… The EU accession process is there to accompany the entire region towards reconciliation, justice and cooperation,” the document reads.

It adds that the upcoming Western Balkan Summit in Trieste will discuss ways for the region to move forward on joint initiatives.

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The Western Balkan Summit, within the EU integration process, is set to be held for the fourth time on July 12 in Italy’s city of Trieste. Leaders and ministers from former Yugoslav states and Albania, as well as EU representatives, are expected to attend.

In July 2015, Russia vetoed a draft resolution in the UN Security Council submitted by the United Kingdom that would condemn the 1995 Srebrenica events as a crime of genocide. According to Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin, the adoption of the resolution with such a classification of the events would have aggravated the situation in the region, as the there is no consensus on this classification either in the region, or in Bosnia and Herzegovina itself. In June 2015, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the resolution incorrectly interpreted what happened in Srebrenica from a legal point of view.

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