Biden, Solana voice concern about Bosnia

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina, May 20 (UPI) -- The United States and the European Union are concerned about Bosnia's ethnic division threatening its territorial integrity, documents say.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Javier Solana, EU foreign policy chief, visited Sarajevo Tuesday to underline their support for Bosnia-Herzegovina's membership in the EU and NATO, a joint statement released by the White House Wednesday said.

The statement said the two leaders support Bosnia-Herzegovina, as a single state with two entities, on its path to Euro-Atlantic institutions that involves concerted effort to introduce political and economic reforms and the country's constitution.

Biden and Solana said they support leaders who can overcome the ethnic divide and bring stability and prosperity to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The joint statement urged Bosnian leaders to fulfill a series of objectives and conditions this year to make a major step towards NATO and EU membership.