MESIC'S VISIT TO BELGRADE TO HELP CREATE CLIMATE FOR BETTER TIES

ZAGREB, Sept 8 (Hina) - The visit of Croatian President Stjepan Mesic to Belgrade set for Wednesday should create a better climate in the relations between the two countries, but it should not be expected of Mesic's talks with his interlocutors to solve open issues, an official from the Croatian President's Office said at a news briefing in Zagreb on Monday. #L# An assistant to Mesic's foreign affairs advisor, Tomislav Car, told reporters that Mesic's one-day visit to Serbia-Montenegro had primarily "political connotations" and that its purpose was to help create "a better climate for the settlement of open issues between the two countries". Mesic will meet the President of Serbia-Montenegro, Svetozar Marovic, the chairman of that state union's parliament, Dragoljub Micunovic, the acting Serbian president, Natasa Micic, and Serbian Premier Zoran Zivkovic. Car said the talks in Belgrade would revolve around four topics: bilateral relations, EuroAtlantic integration processes, regional cooperation and ties with other neighbours, and international topics. He announced that other items on the agenda would be liberalisation of visa systems, the search for persons who went missing during the Homeland Defence War, and the return of Croatian Serb refugees who fled to Serbia. Car said President Mesic believed the return of ethnic Serbs to Croatia was important for Croatia's democratisation. Mesic and his interlocutors will discuss the problems of minorities, the succession to the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and economic cooperation. During his stay in Belgrade, Mesic will meet ethnic Croat representatives and representatives of associations of Croatian Serb refugees. (hina) ms