Stanimirovic said Croatian President Ivo Josipovic and Tadic were politicians whose vision of inter-state relations and problem-solving was different than the vision of previous politicians, underlining that reconciliation in this region was imperative.

"The war crime in Vukovar was committed and the fact that Tadic apologised and asked for forgiveness is a civilisational act and for us, a kind of relief, because he, as the president of Serbia, has assumed the burden of responsibility too. On the other hand, Josipovic publicly said for the first time that Serb civilians had been killed too and that the state too had assisted and participated in the removing of the remains," Stanimirovic was quoted as saying.

He said that Josipovic and Tadic, together with Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, also received a delegation of Serbs whose family members had been killed before war operations in the Vukovar area. He added this was very important when one talked about how the war in Vukovar started, "because until now it was always said that Serbs started that war, which is not true."

Asked about files and protocols from Vukovar's hospital that Tadic returned to Croatia, Stanimirovic was quoted as saying that "the Croatian side is constantly stressing that wounded Croatians, patients and hospital staff were taken from Vukovar's hospital to (nearby farm) Ovcara, while on the other hand there is also information that soldiers were in the hospital disguised as patients."

"Now these protocols that have been turned over can shed light on the truth, how many real patients there were and how many soldiers. Because those who were not in those protocols were actually soldiers in disguise," Stanimirovic was quoted as saying.