Commenting on the request by a papal commission that Italian Benedictines be given back the Dajla monastery and its grounds in Istria, Croatian President Ivo Josipovic said on Monday that there should and could not be any legal matter that would bypass the Treaty of Osimo.
"The regime of the Osimo accords is part of Croatia's legal order and it cannot be changed by interventions from the outside," Josipovic said after meeting with the Roman Catholic Bishop of Porec and Pula, Ivan Milovan.
He said the meeting provided an opportunity to discuss if the process of property restitution had been applied appropriately in the case of the said property, namely if that property had been subject to property restitution at all, and that he expected the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor to help establish this.
"I am confident that if it is established that this is actually state property, that the State or the Church will find a way to use that property in line with its basic purpose and that there will be no disputes," Josipovic told reporters in his office.
He also said that he supported efforts to preserve the good relations between Croatia and the Vatican through diplomatic activities.
