"Now the main task of the Consulate, but also of both countries and their business communities, is to paint a positive picture of this area in order to assure the refugees who are now in Serbia that life in this area is possible, that they can find employment and thus overcome the main obstacle to their return," Ristic told the Novi Sad-based daily Dnevnik.
She said that Serb returnees had problems in exercising their rights, but stressed that this should not stop them from returning to their pre-war homes in Croatia.
"It is necessary for as many media in Serbia and Croatia as possible to join in the return campaign, and Serbia and Montenegro should also make every effort to make the sustainable return of refugees possible. Those people should be helped to return and claim back their property and all the acquired rights they had in Croatia to make it easier for themselves and to alleviate the load on Serbia and Montenegro," the consul said.