Croatian Assistant Culture Minister Branka Sulc said that the icons were part of a collection which in 1993 was taken to the Vojvodina Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Novi Sad for restoration on the order of Osijek-Baranja bishop Lukijan.
Sulc said that the remaining icons from the Bobota church were stored in the patriarchate office in Sremski Karlovci and that they would be returned to Croatia after restoration next year.
Sulc said that delegations from Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro would meet in Zagreb on Wednesday to discuss the return of cultural artefacts and other issues.