Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and Serbian President Boris Tadic spoke on the phone on Monday about solving the case of Croatian war veteran Tihomir Purda, agreeing that in this and other cases, the talks should be continued by the two countries' justice ministers, Kosor's office said in a press release.
Acknowledging the principle of transparency, Tadic and Kosor agreed that Croatian and Serbian justice ministers should coordinate the real lists of persons against whom proceedings have been launched, the press release said.
Reporting on the talks, Tadic's office said they were initiated by Kosor.
According to his office, Tadic said the Purda and other cases should be considered by the Serbian and Croatian ministries in charge and state prosecutors, while respecting the two countries' legal systems.
Purda, 42, was arrested in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday as he was trying to cross the Croatian-Bosnian border, on a warrant issued by the Serbian judiciary, which suspects him of war crimes.
Earlier on Monday, Kosor announced that she would most likely talk with Tadic about Purda's arrest to "avoid incidents" in the future and to "protect the Croatian veterans who honorably and bravely defended (the eastern Croatian town of) Vukovar and their families."
