Croatia "slaps" Serbia at the UN, calls for the recognition of Kosovo

Croatia called for the recognition of Kosovo as an equal member of the international community before the United Nations.

The President of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, in his speech at the United Nations Assembly, expressed his concern about the recent events in the relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and called for the de-escalation of tensions.

“Croatia continues to attach great importance to its immediate neighborhood in Southeast Europe.

Issues of the past and the legacy of war, such as the resolution of remaining missing persons cases and engaging in meaningful cooperation in dealing with war crimes without discrimination and in accordance with international standards, access to archives, and other outstanding issues and very sensitive should be treated thoroughly.

We actively support the European perspective of our close neighbor Bosnia-Herzegovina and have warmly welcomed the recent EU decision to grant EU candidate country status to BiH.

We continue to advocate for electoral reforms that would ensure legitimate representation of all constituent peoples, particularly Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs, at all levels of government, which we believe is essential for the country's future stability and prosperity.

We are very concerned about the recent developments in Kosovo-Serbia relations and would like to encourage measures to reduce tensions. Similarly, these two countries should focus on normalizing relations and fulfill their commitments and start implementing what was agreed this year in Brussels and Ohrid. We continue to defend the universal recognition of the Republic of Kosovo and its right to exist as an equal member of the community of nations.

It is in our interest to promote the stability and further development of this region, as well as the European integration process, which we believe remains crucial for the future prosperity of our neighbors and which we hope will accelerate in the coming years," said the president. Croatian in his word.