Croatia on Monday supported Kosovo's membership of the Council of Europe (CoE) at a meeting which gave the green light to the continuation of integration into that European organisation.

The Committee of Ministers supported Kosovo’s application with 33 votes in favour, seven against and five abstentions, and sent it to the Parliamentary Assembly of that human rights organisation for a vote.

We strongly supported Kosovo’s membership of the Council of Europe, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman told the press.

Asked about the Serbian boycott of Sunday’s local elections in the north of Kosovo, Grlic-Radman said that the elections “were held in accordance with the constitution” and that they were “legitimate”.

A boycott is not a good solution, it is not a good model. It does not contribute to any solution to this issue, he added.

Grlic-Radman, who participated in the meeting of EU foreign ministers, said that they discussed the situation in Ukraine and Sudan, including the evacuation of EU citizens, and the migrant crisis in Tunisia and Moldova, which the EU will help in the fight against cyber attacks.

The ministers spoke with their Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kuleba and again condemned the Russian aggression and sought instruments and ways that would make their condemnation even more restrictive, Grlic-Radman said.

He added that everyone who had wanted to be, of about a hundred Croatian citizens, had been evacuated from Sudan, with the exception of one person who he thought was still on the way.

Grlic-Radman thanked the European External Action Service, the Swedish EU presidency, European embassies, including French and Greek, as well as those outside the EU, such as the embassy of Saudi Arabia, for their help.

As for Tunisia, Grlic-Radman said the situation in that country was deteriorating and that there was concern over a new migrant wave.