“Vice President… Biden met… with Slovenian President Borut Pahor to discuss bilateral relations and European security issues”, the read out issued on Wednesday stated.
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Biden’s trip comes amid a debate in the USA about whether to admit Syrian refugees following the Islamic State group’s attack in Paris.
The summits are usually hosted by Slovenia or Croatia, the only two Balkan countries that are members of the European Union.
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) – Former Balkan rivals on Wednesday pledged joint efforts with the United States and the European Union in protecting European borders from a record surge of asylum-seekers amid fears that Islamic militants may have infiltrated the flow.
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden and Slovenian President Borut Pahor (L-R) pose for a picture before Brdo-Brijuni Process Leaders’ Meeting at Presidental office in Zagreb, Croatia, Nov. 25, 2015. Biden is expected to discuss the response to the refugee crisis, energy and economic ties between the countries. The move came after the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13 raised security concerns across Europe.
A 4,000-strong police deployment lined the Croatian capital and some schools were closed downtown ahead of the afternoon summit, which brings together eight heads of state and European Union president Donald Tusk. Biden’s appearance indicates renewed US interest in the region, which was engulfed in a bloody civil war in the 1990s as the former Yugoslavia broke up. But Biden said: “Our presence is not a return, we never left”.
In Europe, the refugee crisis has become a source of tension among the countries on the migrant corridor – Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. “It is the ultimate guarantee that there’d be a Europe whole, free and at peace”, he said.
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Countries on the route said last week that they were restricting the crossings of economic migrants and allowing in only people from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, sparking protests from others stuck at the Greek-Macedonian border.
