ZAGREB, 20 Dec (Hina) - The normalisation of relations between Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was not running as expected. There had been no considerable progress in the implementation of what had already been agreed
on so that Croatia's Foreign Minister Mate Granic would not visit Belgrade by the end of this year, said Granic's aide Hido Biscevic in Zagreb on Friday.
ZAGREB, 20 Dec (Hina) - The normalisation of relations between
Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was not running as
expected. There had been no considerable progress in the
implementation of what had already been agreed on so that Croatia's
Foreign Minister Mate Granic would not visit Belgrade by the end of
this year, said Granic's aide Hido Biscevic in Zagreb on Friday.
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'The normalisation of relations between Croatia and Yugoslavia
is not running as expected in all agreed areas, but the Croatian
side still holds that the process contributes to the reduction of
tensions, which is important for the completion of the peaceful
reintegration of the Croatian Danubian area and the general
stabilisation of peace', Biscevic told the Croatian news agency
Hina.
'What is most important for Croatia is the process of peaceful
reintegration of the Croatian Danubian area, and as far as Belgrade
is concerned, they have, at least, a correct approach', Biscevic
said.
'Still, we do not expect that Foreign Minister Granic will
visit Belgrade this year'. Negotiating teams for various areas
should be given more time to complete the tasks they had taken
over', he said.
During the last meeting with his Yugoslav counterpart Milan
Milutinovic in Zagreb in October, Foreign Minister Granic announced
that he would visit Belgrade by the end of the year and sign
several important agreements.
Those agreements concerned interior affairs, social, health
and pension questions, railway and road traffic, property and
economic questions and a consular convention.
Out of those announced agreements, only those on internal
affairs' specific questions facilitating traffic between the two
states had been signed, Biscevic said.
The normalisation process was additionally being hampered by
the pressure European countries and the United States were exerting
on Croatia in order to make it accept the concept of the so-called
regional association.
The similarity between the 'regional approach' and Belgrade's
interpretation of the normalisation process as a framework for the
reconstruction of institutional frameworks, unusually similar to
former Yugoslavia, was opposed by Zagreb.
With its attitude, the European Union actually 'enables
Serbia to continue to interpret the normalisation of relations with
former Yugoslav republics in a one-sided way, not as a process of
establishing normal international relations, but as the
establishment of some special relations, Biscevic said.
Stressing that Croatia's aim was the stability of the region,
Biscevic said that Croatia was still interested in Yugoslavia's
continuing the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement
consequently and contributing to the further stabilisation in this
part of Europe.
Zagreb remained open for dialogue and expected Belgrade to
continue its role in the peace process correctly, Biscevic said.
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