BRIJUNI, April 12 (Hina) - Members of the Croatian-Bosnian Cooperation Council met on the northern Adriatic island of Brijuni on Saturday to discuss refugee returns, bilateral relations, unresolved problems, and the situation in the
region and world in light of the war in Iraq.
BRIJUNI, April 12 (Hina) - Members of the Croatian-Bosnian
Cooperation Council met on the northern Adriatic island of Brijuni
on Saturday to discuss refugee returns, bilateral relations,
unresolved problems, and the situation in the region and world in
light of the war in Iraq. #L#
Croatian President Stjepan Mesic told reporters after the meeting
he was satisfied with the constructive atmosphere of the talks,
however, he noted that few disputable issues had been solved since
the Council's last session. He hoped that both sides would manage to
solve backlogs until the next meeting, which is scheduled for
autumn.
The Council is not an executive or operative body and its sole role
is to promote bilateral cooperation, Mesic said, adding that all
other duties were the responsibility of the countries' parliaments
and governments.
Speaking about an initiative he presented during a recent visit to
Belgrade, according to which Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and
Serbia-Montenegro should sign a declaration on the principles of
refugee return, the president said the Presidency of Bosnia-
Herzegovina had accepted it with great understanding. He added that
the initiative would be formalised and its text sent to the
presidencies of Bosnia and Serbia-Montenegro for signing.
Mesic believes that each of the countries must secure an
unobstructed return of refugees and property repossession as soon
as possible.
Speaking about an agreement granting access to Croatia's southern
port of Ploce to Bosnian citizens in exchange for free transit
through Neum in Bosnia-Herzegovina for Croatian citizens, which
Croatia has not ratified yet, Mesic said the problem was an economic
one and should be solved within talks on economic relations.
In that context, he stressed the need to build, as soon as possible,
two road corridors, the Adriatic-Ionian corridor and corridor 5C -
Ploce-Bosnia-Herzegovina-Osijek-Budapest.
Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Chairman Borislav Paravac
expressed satisfaction with today's talks, stating that relations
between the two countries should surpass bilateral cooperation
given the fact that both countries had been part of the same country
for 70 years.
Calling for the improvement of bilateral relations, Presidency
member Sulejman Tihic noted that solving the problem of refugee
return adequately required tackling property restitution. Tihic
also stressed the importance of cooperation with the war crimes
tribunal in The Hague and the processing of war crimes.
Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula said meetings of the
Council resulted in more disputes being resolved to the mutual
satisfaction. Picula said he was aware that Croatia's candidacy for
membership in the European Union obliged the country to implement a
good neighbourly policy and expressed hope that Bosnia would make
significant progress towards the EU this year.
Today's meeting also tackled the current situation in the world in
light of the war in Iraq. Participants in the meeting pointed to the
central role of the United Nations in efforts to preserve and
strengthen peace and stability in the world.
(hina) rml