Addressing reporters at a joint press conference after the meeting, Sanader said that the fate of people who had gone missing during the 1991-1995 war should be top priority in the work of the two governments.
He said that the restitution of property to Serb refugees was not a political, but a technical and financial issue, and announced that all property would be given back by the year's end in accordance with an agreement between the Croatian government and Serb minority representatives in the Croatian parliament.
All the time limits specified in that agreement will be respected, and any delays may only be due to financial problems, Sanader said.
The two prime ministers underlined the historic significance of the agreement on the protection of national minorities in the two countries, which was signed earlier today.
Sanader said he was optimistic about the development of good relations between Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro, adding that both countries wanted to join the European Union and transnational integration processes.
"Relations between Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro are the key to peace and lasting political stability in this part of Europe, and after 14 years of war and clashes, the citizens of our countries deserve that," the Croatian prime minister said.
Kostunica agreed that their meeting today would contribute to normalisation of relations between the two countries, overall stabilisation of the region, and efforts by the two countries to join the European Union and NATO.
"Relations between Croatia and Serbia are of great importance to the stability of the region. Promotion of our relations is a framework for resolving many issues, both those inherited from the past and those that turn us towards the future and the EU," Kostunica said.
Kostunica also spoke of great opportunities for economic cooperation, but stressed that humanitarian issues from the past should be addressed "responsibly and gradually", citing the sensitive issue of missing persons, the possibility of citizens of Serbia and Montenegro convicted in Croatia being transferred to their country to serve out their sentences, the return of refugees, and the restoration of property and tenancy rights.
Asked about the transfer of 42 Serb prisoners held in Lepoglava prison in Croatia to Serbia and Montenegro, Sanader said that the matter had been discussed earlier today by Croatian Justice Minister Vesna Skare Ozbolt and Serbia and Montenegro's Human and Minority Rights Minister Rasim Ljajic, and that the two ministers had agreed that the problem would be dealt with in accordance with European conventions, "taking account of the political sensitivity of the issue in Croatia".
Sanader added that no specific agreement had been reached, but that efforts would be made to find a quick solution in the next three to five days.
Commenting on the case of Partizan Belgrade basketball player Milan Gurovic, who had been barred by the Croatian police from entering Croatia a few days ago because of a tattooed image of World War Two Chetnik Movement leader and war criminal Draza Mihajlovic on his arm, Sanader said that sports clubs should find solutions to situations like that, and pointed out that the role of athletes as public figures was to promote tolerance and European values.
Commenting on the same case, Kostunica said that sporting organisations should impose more stringent rules in order to prevent a repetition of similar cases.
Speaking to Croatian reporters later on, Sanader was asked to comment on some public statements about the inappropriateness of his visit to Belgrade three days before the anniversary of the fall of Vukovar, to which he said: "Where is the line, three days before or six days before? We won the war for our homeland, which was imposed on us, and we should not have any complexes about it."
Sanader further said that it had been agreed that land books and other documents, which had been taken away from Dvor na Uni (100 kilometres southeast of Zagreb on the border with Bosnia) during the war, would be returned already this Friday. It was also agreed that works of art taken from the Franciscan monastery in Vukovar would be returned next week, and an art collection that had been found in Apatin might be returned to Croatia very soon.
At the end of his visit, the first official trip of a Croatian head of government to Serbia and Montenegro, Sanader met the Archbishop of Belgrade, Stanislav Hocever, the Bishop of Subotica, Ivan Penzes, and the Vicar-General of the Belgrade Archdiocese, Leopold Rohmes, at the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade.