Croat Leaders Congratulate Serbian Progressives

"I congratulate those who won such excellent election results," Pusic in Brussels, referring to last weekend's general election in neighbouring Serbia, in which the Serbian Progressive Party won a landslide victory.

"The current politicians in both countries are responsible for the present and the future. Problems from the past exist and we will solve them, not allowing ourselves to become their prisoners," she added.

Croatia and Serbia today have "normal, good neighbourly relations with all the past problems being solved through the respective institutions," the minister continued.

Croatian President Ivo Josipovic also noted events in Serbia on Monday, noting that, "the message of the Serbian elections is that Serbia is staying on the European path."

Tomislav Karamarko, head of the main opposition Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, said he "wished a lot of success to Serbian citizens and to the Serbian Progressive Party on their European path".

Asked about his recent statement - that Croatia should withdraw unconditional support for Serbia's EU membership, if Serbia continues to claim that Croatia committed genocide against Serbs during the 1990s - Karamarko said it was time for Serbia to admit that "aggression was committed against Croatia, with the intention to include parts of Croatian territory in Serbia and form a Greater Serbia".

If Serbia accepted that, Karamarko said, "it would pass the test and could count on Croatian help on its way to the EU".

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