Croatia's negotiations are clearly separated from Turkey's in at least three chapters and Croatia does not have as many benchmarks in some chapters as Turkey does, said Papadopoulos. He underlined that Cyprus wished to help Croatia on its road to EU membership and share its own negotiating experience.
Mesic said every country must meet the set criteria and that although some countries wanted to tie Croatia's EU negotiations with Turkey's, there was no need to link the two countries that way.
He recalled the October 2005 summit of 15 Central European heads of states in Zagreb and its conclusion that countries would be evaluated individually after the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.
Apart from EU and NATO entry, the two presidents discussed the strengthening of Cyprus-Croatia cooperation in all fields, notably in tourism, shipbuilding, maritime affairs, culture and education.
Mesic said Croatia attached great importance to relations with Cyprus as it is a Mediterranean country and an EU member, adding that he and his guest had agreed there was much room to advance bilateral cooperation.
The two presidents also exchanged views on the situation in the region and global issues such as terrorism. Mesic said their positions were "highly adjusted".
Papadopoulos's visit was the first official visit on the highest rank between the two countries. Mesic accepted an invitation to visit Cyprus.
Papadopoulos was also received by Parliament Speaker Vladimir Seks, who voiced confidence the visit would intensify bilateral relations, notably parliamentary cooperation given Croatia's integration with the EU, an official statement said.
Seks thanked the Cypriot government for its support to Croatia's EU accession.
Papadopoulos said this support would continue. He also voiced confidence that the pending issue of the European constitution was not an obstacle to Croatia's entry as it was possible to modify the Nice Agreement.
He agreed with Seks the first step in parliamentary cooperation was the establishment of friendship groups in the two parliaments, and voiced hope to see Seks in Cyprus soon.