Gordan Bakota, Croatia's outgoing ambassador to Serbia, said on Thursday his country would not block the neighbour's European efforts because of open issues that could be solved in a dialogue within the European context, the Belgrade Novi Magazine reported.

 He added he was convinced Croatia’s EU chairmanship from January 1, 2020, would intensify the Western Balkans’ European path.

“The European context and values, as well as the transformation of society, can help to overcome the consequences of the events from 20-30 years ago (the wars in former Yugoslavia). If we look at the EU, as a union of values and a peace project, as a goal regardless open issues, it will be easier to solve difficult questions from the ’90s,” Bakota told Novi Magazine in an interview.

Referring to the Serbo-Croatian relationship, Bakota said there was “some progress” in the area of the protection of minorities or the return of the cultural treasure, but that wasn’t enough.

“We’re not satisfied with meetings about missing persons, which we consider a humanitarian, not political issue. Regardless of the ethnicity or citizenship, it’s both Croatia’s and Serbia’s obligation to solve the problem of missing people jointly,” he added.

Bakota said the relations between Zagreb and Belgrade, as among other neighbouring countries, especially in South-East Europe, “are in an intensive and dynamic period in which the efforts are made to resolve open issues,” adding Croatia fully supported the South-European countries on their EU road.