"Josipovic regrets that Croatia contributed to human suffering," says the highest-circulation daily Dnevni Avaz, adding that the Croatian president believes that every crime must be punished and that every victim deserves respect.

Oslobodjenje daily, too, underlines the importance of Josipovic's messages condemning crimes committed in the war.

"There are no criminal nations, only criminals and crimes," Oslobodjenje quotes Josipovic, bringing the highlights of his speech in the national parliament.

The Banja Luka-based Nezavisne Novine reports that the Croatian president called for replacing divisions from the past with cooperation.

The paper cites Josipovic's statement that a new era has come in which mistakes of the past should be acknowledged and a new course set that will bring peace and prosperity to the region.

Another Bosnian Serb paper, Glas Srpske, reports about Josipovic's visit in almost the same way as Nezavisne Novine.

Both papers also report that some Bosnian Serb politicians, like Bosnian Prime Minister Nikola Spiric, are dissatisfied that Josipovic intends to visit only places of suffering of Muslims and Croats, and not places of suffering of the Serb people.

The US State Department on Wednesday welcomed Josipovic's speech in which he apologised for Croatia's participation in attempts to divide Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990s and the suffering resulting from such policy, calling on all countries in the region to settle outstanding issues and establish close cooperation.

Speaking at a regular meeting with the press, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said he had not seen the text of Josipovic's speech yet and was commenting on it based on reporters' questions, noting that his apology for attempts to divide Bosnia-Herzegovina, his call for settling outstanding issues and closer regional cooperation, and his strong support for Bosnia's constitutional reforms and its membership of Euro-Atlantic associations corresponded with what the USA was trying to accomplish in the region.