Serbian and Croatian presidents have brought new optimism and new hope to the region, Republic of Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik told daily Politika.
He pointed out that good relations between Serbia and Croatia were a prerequisite for stability of the entire region, including Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Croatian President Ivo Josipović has stated that present generation of politicians must solve open issues between Serbia and Croatia.
According to him, present authorities of the two countries must not leave open issues which are still burdening relations between Belgrade and Zagreb to the next generation.
Serbian Police (MUP) Director Milorad Veljović said late on Tuesday that good cooperation between Serbia and Croatia “a decisive blow to organized crimeâ€. Commenting on the verdict reached against Sretko Kalinić, a member of the Zemun Clan criminal group who was sentenced in Zagreb on Tuesday to 18 months in prison for forging his passport, and then extradited to Serbia, Veljović pointed out that the police cooperation between the two countries is of historic importance for the regionâ€.
Croatian President Ivo Josipović has stated that Serbia and Croatia have achieved “great success” in intensifying talks on open issues. He stressed that there was progress in particular as the two countries cooperated in combating organized crime, and prosecuting war crimes.
Serbian and Croatian citizens will be able to check with their respective ministries of justice whether they were investigated for war crimes, B92 has learned.
Serbia and Croatia have formed a mixed commission to deal with the issue of war crimes, which will enable people to see a list of those indicted, convicted, or investigated in this context.
Serbia and Croatia have signed an agreement for extraditing their citizens suspected or convicted of serious crimes.
The agreement was signed in Belgrade by the two countries’ justice ministers, Snežana Malović and Ivan Å imonović.
B92 has received unofficial information that MiloÅ¡ Simović, convicted of participating in the assassination of prime minister Zoran ÄinÄ‘ić, has been arrested. According to sources, he was arrested at the border between Serbia and Croatia while trying to enter the country illegally.
Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Å utanovac says the capacities of the armies of Serbia and Croatia are “complementaryâ€.
He made the comment after returning from an official visit to Croatia, where he signed an agreement on cooperation between the two countries in the area of defense together with his Croatian counterpart Branko Vukelić.
The signing of an agreement between Serbia and Croatia on defense cooperation represents an important step in the improvement of the two countries’ relations. It also contributes to stability in South East Europe – according to Croatian President Ivo Josipović and Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Å utanovac.
Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković said that Serbia is prepared to drop its genocide charges against Croatia.
He said that if an agreement is reached for the genocide charges filed by Serbia and Croatia against one another to be mutually and unconditional dropped, Serbia is prepared to do so.
Foreign Ministry advisor Zdravko Ponoš said that the work of the commission for confirming borders between Serbia and Croatia is “very significant.†He told B92 that the meeting held on Thursday between Serbian and Croatian officials was very tolerant, with both sides taking time to listen to the arguments of the other side.
Serbia and Croatia must improve relations, because they affect stability in the region, Croatian politician Vesna Pusić said. “Relations between Croatia and Serbia are such that they have always stabilized and destabilized the region. Because of this, we should create responsible policies for relations to improve and in that way stabilize the region,†the Croatian president of the National Council for Following EU negotiations told the Tanjug news agency.
Newly-elected Croatian President Ivo Josipović said that relations between Serbia and Croatia are key to relations in the entire region. As far as the possibility of Croatia pulling its genocide suit against Serbia is concerned, Josipović said that reconciliation is possible once justice has been served.
The genocide lawsuits between Serbia and Croatia are counterproductive and senseless, international law professor Radoslav Stojanović said. He said that the two countries must work more on the process of reconciliation.
President Boris Tadić says “certain statements by Croatian officials were spoiling relations between Serbia and Croatia”, Beta reported. He stressed that he was primarily referring to the stand of Croatian President Stjepan Mesić about Serbia not conducting a sufficiently honest policy toward Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Progress has been made in relations between Serbia and Croatia, says the European Commission. It notes, however, that Croatia is reluctant to accept investments from Serbia. The EC’s exhaustive annual report on the reforms that Croatia is carrying out on its way to the EU states that there has been an improvement in relations between Belgrade and Zagreb, especially after the visits of senior officials.
French car giant Citroen has apologized to the Bosnian embassy in Paris for publishing new promotional campaign that saw the country wiped from the map. The map was recently discussed by the Slovenian government as well. On the map, the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina is divided between Serbia and Croatia.
