The agency quoted Paroubek as saying he would "appreciate" Croatia's help in finding war crime suspects, notably the runaway general Ante Gotovina. But the Czech leader does not think "the EU accession talks should be conditional on the search for suspects spearheaded by an international tribunal".
The dpa agency carried a news item released by the Czech news agency CTK reporting that Paroubek is planning to visit south-eastern Europe in the next few weeks. During the tour of the Balkans, he will stop in Kosovo where a 400-strong Czech contingent is deployed within NATO-led peacekeeping forces.