Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusic has said that regarding Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic's statement that he would like to meet with his Croatian counterpart Ivo Josipovic as soon as Zagreb demonstrates a wish to that effect, the presidents of the two countries will decide on the time when they should meet.
Asked by reporters whether Zagreb is mulling a possibility of inviting Nikolic to visit Croatia after he expressed readiness to come if he was invited by Josipovic, Minister Pusic said on Thursday that "Croatia's diplomacy is absolutely working on the relations with Serbia".
In each situation according to the given circumstances we have held meetings of foreign ministers. Later this month Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Affairs, Suzana Grubjesic, will arrive here, Pusic said answering questions of reporters who were covering her and her HNS party's visits to graves of HNS leaders on the occasion of All Saints' Day.
We have defined three groups of issues on which we should work, It starts from efforts to identify the missing persons (who disappeared in the war) and then other topics can ensue, and the presidents will decide when it is time for them to meet, the HNS official said.
Asked whether the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was on an official visit to Zagreb on Wednesday, requested the Croatian government to be focused on issues in the region, the Croatian foreign minister said that Mrs. Clinton had not talked with Croatian officials in that way.
"We were interested in the U.S. position now and after the elections, and they were interested in our regional policy" Pusic said.
"We are fully aware that we have a great responsibility for the region and a great interest in the region's stabilisations, and we are working on that from several aspects," Pusic said.
Croatia is "recognised as a trustworthy partner in the region," she concluded.
