Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman on Friday condemned the removal of the Croatian flag from the ambassador's official residence in Belgrade, saying that such incidents fomented an atmosphere of hate, hostility and intolerance.

“Such incidents are certainly not conducive to understanding (…) We hope and wish for the relations between Croatia and Serbia to be good because it makes sense that we should have stable relations,” he told the press.

Croatian Ambassador Hido Biscevic told N1 television on Thursday that “it was no accident” that the Croatian flag was taken down from his residence, and that the incident reflected “part of the atmosphere” in Serbian society, which he said “continued to feed on hate speech.”

Unknown persons removed the flag from the building which has video surveillance but no guards, most likely on Wednesday morning, he said.

The Serbian Foreign Ministry said this was an “injudicious and isolated act,” hoping that it “won’t cast a shadow on efforts to set Serbia-Croatia relations on new foundations so that in future they can develop in the spirit of mutual trust and cooperation.”

Grlic-Radman said that because of such incidents “we can’t say the relations have good prospects, we can’t talk about a good future, but we must believe in a good future.”

He announced that he will go to Subotica on 28 April for the laying of the cornerstone of a new Croatia House. His talks with local officials will also address an initiative, opposed by Croatian linguists, to declare the Bunjevci dialect an official language in that town in northern Serbia.

The minister reiterated that the initiative was contrary to the Croatia-Serbia agreement on the protection of national minorities.

He said that on 27 April the prime minister of the Vojvodina province, Igor Mirovic, would visit Croatian town of Petrinja, struck by a devastating earthquake in December.

Serbia’s EU path “also goes through Croatia”

Grlic-Radman went on to say that Serbia’s EU path “also goes through Croatia.”

“Before Serbia joins, it is necessary to resolve the issue of the war missing, universal jurisdiction, and reparations for POWs,” he said.

Ethnic Serb representatives have three guaranteed seats in the Croatian parliament, and Croatia wants ethnic Croats in Serbia to be represented as well, he added.

Serbia “must actively and strongly deal” with reforms, the fight against corruption, and the rule of law, he said.

Serbia was granted EU candidate status in March 2012 and began accession negotiations in January 2014.