ZAGREB, February 1, 2018 - Croatia's Defence Minister Damir Krstičević on Thursday said that Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić was welcome in Croatia, but that he first expects an apology for the Great Serbia military aggression against Croatia.
Vučić is coming to Croatia in mid-February at the invitation of President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.
"The President of Serbia is welcome," Krstičević told reporters after a cabinet meeting when asked what he thought about Vučić's visit and whether he should first apologise for the Great Serbia aggression. "I think he should. I think that what he was saying certainly wasn't good. That's the first step," Krstičević said.
"We know that there was a war, that Croatia was attacked, that a brutal aggression was waged against Croatia. My duty today is to strengthen the security system, to strengthen the military system. It is clear that we have to look to the future. But an apology is the minimum," he added.
Krstičević did not wish to clearly answer whether the government agreed with the visit taking place now or perhaps that it should have waited until current tensions between the two countries eased up. "The government has expressed its stance. I've said it all," he said and added that reporters should ask the president about that.
Serbia's President said today that he didn't "expect miracles" from his visit to Croatia but that he was convinced that the talks would be good and "healing," because both sides have a need for dialogue when problems exist. He underlined that he didn't want to evade any topic.
"We will be ready for difficult, direct and open talks on all topics because we don't want to hide from any topic - from the missing to resolving Serbs' property rights, the right to a pension, to the fact that some villages inhabited by Serbs do not have electricity, but also that we assist the Croat community," Vučić said.
