The former Croatian President, Stjepan Mesic said that Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina keep returning to the past too often, and that they need to realize that the wars in the region are over. Mesic made his comments on Wednesday on the margins of the 2018 Sarajevo Business Forum, where he was invited to speak.

Speaking to N1 he said: “This forum is well conceived and well managed, and I believe that it will influence the development of Bosnia, but also the entire region even more, in the time to come. We are all focused on joining the EU. This is good, but we must not have ties only with the EU.”

Mesic added that the world today is integrated more than ever, and that no one can exist outside of it.

“It’s not a good idea to distance ourselves from some parts of Europe that are not members of the EU. I’m thinking of Turkey, primarily. They must find their place in the EU. Russia is a great force, a European country, they must not be excluded from European integration,” Mesic said.

He added that Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia keep returning to the past too often.

“We are unable to end the wars that have long been over. All the wars ended with peace, and we have to realise that the wars have ended, that the borders have not changed, that there are certain issues that need to be solved, but this should not be a burden for countries and their peoples. Borders must not separate people,” said Mesic, who was Croatian President from 2000 to 2010, during his visit to the special programme at N1, the regional media sponsor of the Sarajevo Business Forum.

The 9th Sarajevo International Business Forum (SBF) is a two-day event which hosts panels attended by officials and businesspeople from the region and the wider world. It began today in Sarajevo, giving attendees a unique opportunity to get acquainted with business and investment opportunities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries of the region.

The SBF is a leading business and investment conference in South East Europe, and is organized by the Bosnian Bank International (BBI) in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) under the auspices of the Bosnian Presidency.

Follow N1 via mobile apps for Android | iPhone/iPad | Windows| and social media on Twitter | Facebook.