Speaker of Parliament, Gordan Jandrokovic, commented on relations between Croatia and Serbia on Tuesday, saying that if Serbia wanted to join the European Union it should behave in a European way.
His comments came after a month-long tit-for-tat diplomatic row involving Croatia and Serbia and an ultra-nationalist incident in Belgrade in April which had cut short an official visit of Croatian Parliament’s delegation to their Serbian counterparts.
“Croatia had defended itself during the 1991-95 independence war, and won the war, which had been imposed on it by Serbia, and this is something that obviously bothers them. They are still continuing the policies which once aimed at re-arranging borders, and which wanted to use the ethnic Serb minority in Croatia as an instrument for its own goals. Using political and diplomatic means, we will not allow this to happen, we will keep saying what the truth is, but we do not wish to get entangled in verbal conflicts that they seem to produce on a daily basis,” Jandrokovic said at a memorial ceremony at the village of Okucani in eastern Croatia which marked the 23rd anniversary of the Croatian army’s military operation Flash.
Jandrokovic’s statement came after he was asked to comment on the relations between Croatia and Serbia. He continued by saying that “Croatia had better things to do right now – including economy, reforms, and using opportunities it has by being part of the EU and NATO,” and added that “If Serbia wants to join the EU, then it should behave in a European way.”
He said Croatia had taken part in a bilateral dialogue “in good faith” after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had visited Zagreb in February, but that the incident that took place during Jandrokovic’s later visit to Serbia was unacceptable.
He said that the organisers of the official visit of the Croatian parliament’s delegation to Belgrade in April should not have allowed the ultra-nationalist Serbian MP Vojislav Seselj to cause the incident in which he desecrated the Croatian flag in front of the Serbian Parliament before verbally abusing members of the Croatian delegation. The incident ended what was originally planned to be a two-day visit, with Jandrokovic and members of the delegation leaving for Zagreb the same day.
Following the incident, Jandrokovic added, Serbia responded by using the “usual verbal artillery” which tried to equalise guilt and relativise Serbia’s responsibility for what went on in the 1990s. However, Croatia responded to that as well, Jandrokovic said, and once again added that “if Serbia wants good-neighbourly relations and a European prospect, than it should behave that way.”
