Brussels, 27/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 26 November, European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle called on Croatia and Serbia “to calm their emotions” and to work towards reconciliation, as the two countries still have differences over war crimes. “I believe that politicians from both sides will find a way out, will contribute to the calming of emotions and will work towards reconciliation for the benefit of the whole region”, Füle told journalists in Zagreb.
In an interview published early on Monday in the daily newspaper Kurir, the Serbian nationalist president, Tomislav Nikolic, said that it is “not going well” with Croatia, criticising the fact that the Croats are celebrating that no one has been sentenced for crimes committed during Operation Storm in 1995. He said that Croatia was a “nation on the wrong path”. His counterpart, Ivo Josipovic, immediately replied on Croatian national radio that this type of statement “does not contribute to reconciliation”. He said that the situation has to calm down and that once Nikolic has changed his rhetoric, “the conditions will be met for joint meetings” (our translation).
Relations between Zagreb and Belgrade have deteriorated with the election of Nikolic, a nationalist, in May 2012, and have become worse still since 16 November with the acquittal on appeal of two Croat generals who took part in Operation Storm and were accused of war crimes against Serbs. (CG/transl.fl)