Mesic: Zagreb and Belgrade must overcome disagreements

BELGRADE - Former Croatian president Stjepan Mesic stated Monday that relations between Croatia and Serbia are not as they should be in the best interest of both countries and the region as a whole.

The relations are still burdened by the past, and Zagreb and Belgrade will have to overcome their disagreements soon, Mesic told Belgrade-based daily Danas.

State officials should be more aware of their responsibility to the countries their represent and the people that voted for them, he noted.

"We need a long-term prediction, not a short-term response for the purpose of daily political interests," the former Croatian president said, adding that the recent message of Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic to his Croatian counterpart Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic was an indicator of the right direction to follow.

On April 2, President Nikolic condemned the act of Vojislav Seselj, the leader of the Serbian Radical Party, who set fire to a Croatian flag. Nikolic said that Serbia remains committed to a policy of good-neighborliness, after which the Croatian president commented she looks forward to cooperation.

Photo Tanjug, Z. Zestic (archive)