BELGRADE, July 31 (Hina) - The incident on the Danube will not much affect the overall relations between Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), which are now much better than before a year or two, although the problems
like the border issue and refuge returns exist, Yugoslav Foreign Minister was quoted by the weekly "Blic News" as saying.
BELGRADE, July 31 (Hina) - The incident on the Danube will not much
affect the overall relations between Croatia and the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), which are now much better than before
a year or two, although the problems like the border issue and
refuge returns exist, Yugoslav Foreign Minister was quoted by the
weekly "Blic News" as saying. #L#
"That event does not deserve so much attention, it only indicates a
great problem regarding the border issue," Minister Goran
Svilanovic said.
"This is only a drastic indicator of how important the border issue
is, and not only the demarcation of the border-line, but also the
crossing of people in border areas and the property issues,"
Svilanovic said commenting on the incident of last Sunday when
Yugoslav Army soldiers intercepted four Croatian boats rowing
towards the Sarengrad islet on the Danube, shot at the boats, and
then detained Croatian citizens for a few hours.
The refusal of Yugoslav Ambassador to Zagreb to accept a Croatian
protest note over the incident is for Svilanovic "nothing unusual
in diplomacy".
"He (ambassador) could not receive such note until all facts were
established. And, the note had no purpose when it was known that in
one-hour time Croatian Premier (Ivica Racan) and Yugoslav Foreign
Minister would meet and talk in the wake of that event," Svilanovic
added.
(hina) ms