Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic and First Deputy PM and Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusic met separately with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton in Zagreb on Thursday for talks on Croatia's EU accession on July 1 and the situation in the region.
Discussing the situation in the region, Milanovic and Ashton underlined the importance of partnership between the states and mutual assistance, the government said in a press release.
Milanovic said Croatia was the anchor of stability in the region and fully supported the EU in that because stability in the region was a joint interest.
Pusic and Ashton discussed the situation in the region after the recent signing of an agreement on the normalisation of Serbia-Kosovo relations and its implementation so that Serbia could get a date for the start of EU entry talks, the foreign ministry said.
Ashton spoke of her recent meeting with Serbian First Deputy PM Aleksandar Vucic and of the good bilateral relations with Kosovo.
Discussing the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pusic said a stable Bosnia was in Croatia's interest. As a future EU member, Croatia will play an important role in supporting the countries in the region in their EU membership bids, it was said.
Ashton and Pusic also talked about the situation in Iran, since Ashton arrived in Croatia from Istanbul, where she held talks with the chief Iranian negotiator and presidential candidate, Saeed Jalili.
