According to Novi List daily, the government made the decision after concluding that the earlier conditions Serbia was to have met are not sufficient to drop the suit, but also because both parties have to submit already this month lists of witnesses who are to be heard in the first half of 2014.
Croatia filed the genocide lawsuit against Serbia with the ICJ in 1999. In late 2008, the ICJ rejected all of Belgrade's objections, declaring jurisdiction over the case.
Croatia's then Justice Minister Ivan Simonovic said the aim of the suit was to determine the truth about the war crimes in Croatia, punish those responsible, shed light on the missing, and return stolen works of art.
A year later, the Serbian government decided to countersue Croatia for genocide against Serbs during the 1991-95 war in Croatia.
In late March 2010, Croatian President Ivo Josipovic said the Croatian suit could be dropped only after the issues because of which it had been filed had been solved.
In late 2011, Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic said the suits could be settled in court or through agreement. She said it would make more sense to count the contentious matters that were important for life, such as the issue of the war missing, the stolen works of art, war crimes trials, and judicial cooperation.