President Mesic first hosted a lunch for all foreign guests who attended today's inauguration ceremony, and then held separate meetings with presidents Alfred Moisiu of Albania, Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine, Ivan Gasparovic of Slovakia, Boris Tadic of Serbia, Filip Vujanovic of Montenegro, and a special representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Georgy Poltavchenko.
A wide range of current topics concerning bilateral relations, the situation in the region and international politics was discussed at bilateral meetings and informal talks at the lunch, the statement said.
All guests expressed readiness to continue strengthening relations between their respective countries and Croatia on the basis of mutual interests and raising them to a higher level. Special attention should be paid to the promotion of economic relations, it was stated.
The high guests supported Croatia's integration with the European Union and expressed hope that the talks on Croatia's full EU membership would start soon. President Mesic said that Croatia was aware of its commitments and would act decisively in line with them, and expressed hope that the EU and the international community would appreciate its efforts, the statement said.
Speaking about the region, regional leaders expressed readiness to continue the policy which would transform the region into a zone of peace and stability, to which every measure alleviating the consequences of the war will definitely contribute, the statement said.