March 20, 2009

Croatian PM Ivo Sanader commenced his one-day official visit to Belgrade with talks with his host  Mirko Cvetković on open issues between the two countries and promotion of cooperation. More from Mladen Bijelić.

Ivo Sanader and Mirko Cvetković agreed on many issues and some differences in stands on unresolved issues from the past. We will never forget our recent past, but will not live in it, but will turn to future, Sanader said, assessing that relations between the two countries are key for the stability of Southeastern Europe. In relations with Serbia, Croatia will be guided by the principal of mutual support and cooperation and announced that on April 4 Croatia will become a NATO member-state and will support Serbia’s Euro-Atlantic integrations. He emphasized that the two countries had many open issues left, which have stemmed from war times, such as one of the return of refugees and the shedding of light on the fate of missing persons on both sides. Some issues will be resolved soon, while others will take time. Serbian PM

Mirko Cvetković assessed that, besides numerous similarities, there are still major differences on some issues, above all because Croatia has recognized independent Kosovo and sued Serbia for genocide. He assessed the two countries should open issues that can be resolved in the interest of a better future. He also announced that the two countries’ delegations will meet on 14 April in order to speed up a solution to many issues stemming from the Agreement on Property Succession. The talks also touched on cooperation in the fields of energy and traffic. A protocol on cooperation in the process of European integrations and a memorandum on the cooperation of ministries of culture in the field of language and literature were signed.

During his one-day visit to Belgrade, Sanader will meet with Parliament Speaker Slavica Đukić-Dejanović, and will also be received by Serbian President Boris Tadić. This has been the third visit of Sanader to Belgrade and just before his arrival for talks with Cvetkovic, tens of citizens gathered in front of the government building in protest against his visit.