Croatian government reacted on Monday to statements made by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Kosovo on Sunday.

The government was referring to a speech Vucic made in Kosovo on Sunday, August 9, in which he described the 1990s Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic as a “great leader who certainly had the best intentions, but the results were much worse” and said that the Croatian town of Knin “now has a chequerboard (Croatian coat-of-arms) flying over it, which had never been there before.”

“Such statements are another example of fruitless and misguided attempts at provocation which cannot change reality or historical facts,” the government said.

“It is a fact that Croatia was a victim of aggression of (Slobodan) Milosevic’s regime, which was defeated in the 1991-95 war when Croatia liberated all of its occupied territories, including the town of Knin, which we can be proud of. The lasting symbol of that is precisely the Croatian flag flying over Knin,” they said, adding that Croatia emerged from the conflict, which was imposed on it, as a victor, and that it is today a member of EU and NATO.

In Croatia, Milosevic and his expansionist policies are seen as the main cause which triggered the wars of the 1990s, in part due to his backing of Serb rebels which had set up a self-proclaimed independent territory in areas populated by ethnic Serbs within Croatia’s borders, with Knin as its capital, before it ceased to exist in 1995 following Croatia’s military offensive Operation Storm.

“If the conquests led by Milosevic’s regime present “best intentions” for the president of modern Serbia, then it will take a lot more time and effort to rebuild the bridges between Serbia and the victims of its aggression. Serbia’s position on the losing side, responsible for so many tragedies in nearly all the neighbouring countries, must be difficult. The sooner Serbia, its leadership, and its public, face that truth and adopt European values, the sooner true reconciliation and good neighbourly relations can come about,” the government said.

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