Roundup: Serbian FM talks with Croatian officials to resolve existing issues

Visiting Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic met Croatian top officials on Wednesday in an effort to find ways to resolve existing issues between the two countries.

At a press conference after meeting with his Croatian counterpart Vesna Pusic, Dacic said his meetings with Croatian officials were regular meetings in which they were trying to reach practical solutions for existing problems between the two countries.

Serbia was interested for better relations with Croatia, Dacic said, adding that resolving all existing issues was a precondition for the stability of the region. Serbia also hoped to intensify dialogues, he said.

Pusic said she and Dacic "talked on all issues, brought some solutions or started to work on resolutions".

They talked about issues including the location of missing persons from 1990s war and disputed border on Danube River. Both officials believed the border issue could be resolved through arbitration.

The Serbia law on regional jurisdiction, whereby Serbia has declared jurisdiction for the prosecution of war crimes committed in other countries of the former Yugoslavia, was also discussed.

Regarding the law, Pusic said "Serbia has begun EU membership negotiations and new standards are on the agenda now. The law is unprecedented and is not in line with EU standards." She added:"We can expect this problem to be solved soon."

Dacic, also first deputy prime minister of Serbia, said that no other country than Croatia had raised objections to the law. However, he said it would be changed if it was found "the law is not in line with the acquis communautaire".

Pusic said they discussed the possibility of launching joint projects of two countries, such as building a gas pipeline interconnecting Croatia and Serbia, which was accepted by the EU ministers as one of the five infrastructural energetic projects to be initiated in Croatia.

Dacic also met with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic and the Speaker of Parliament Josip Leko respectively on Wednesday.

Dacic's visit, initially planned for November last year, was postponed after Croatia claimed Serbian government did not address adequately on the issue of alleged Serbian war criminal Vojislav Seselj.

Pusic expressed on previous occasions that she and Croatia would not block Serbia's EU path. But Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said in February that Croatia would block Serbia's EU negotiations, unless the regional jurisdiction law was altered or revoked. Enditem