Eurasia Press & News
Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader has hailed his visit to Serbia over the weekend as significant in reviving dialogue between the one-time bitter foes, and likened their relationship to that of France and Germany.
Speaking to Serbia’s state news agency, Tanjug, Sanader said Serbia and Croatia had a difficult past but both countries want to built a better future.
“Take France and Germany for example. Those two countries were the greatest enemies through centuries, but today they are the fundation of European Union. Serbia and Croatia must be the same in Southeastern Europe in the future.“
Croatia’s Prime Minister visited Belgrade on Friday, and met with Serbian officials including President Boris Tadic, Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Parliament Speaker Slavica Djukic Dejanovic.
Regarding the position of ethnic Serbs in Croatia he talked about the return of refugees and property from the 1991-1995 conflict, missing persons,the protection of national minorities and economic cooperation in the industrial and energy sectors. Sanader also met representatives of the Croatian minority in Serbia.
“We expect certain issues to be resolved very quickly, while others will begin to be addressed in the future, in keeping with the constant need to establish better relations between the two states,“ said Cvetkovic at a joint press conference with Ivo Sanader.
Sanader said that Croatia, as a state that expected to join NATO soon and that was progressing faster towards European Union integration, would not behave with Serbia the way Slovenia had with her, adding that he espoused the principle of “what’s best for our neighbours is best for us too.“
Cvetkovic stressed that major differences still existed between Belgrade and Zagreb, especially when it came to Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, alluding to Croatia’s recognition of Kosovo’s unilateral independence and Croatia’s genocide suit against Serbia at the International Court of Justice.
On Friday, Milica Delevic, the director of the Serbian Government European Integration Office, and Bjanka Matkovic, the Croatian state secretary for Political Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, signed a Protocol on Cooperation in European Integration on behalf of their respective countries.
Serbian and Croatian Education Ministers Zarko Obradovic and Bozo Biskupic also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of language and literature.
Serbian Energy Minister Petar Skundric met Croatian Minister of Economy and Labour Damir Plancec. They agreed that Serbia and Croatia plan to foster cooperation in the energy industry sector. This should also include the construction of oil and gas pipelines, he said.
