The United States on Thursday welcomed Serbian President Boris Tadic's visit to the easternmost Croatian town of Vukovar, where he paid his respects to the victims of the massacre at nearby Ovcara farm, and the overall efforts Croatia and Serbia are investing in reconciliation and the strengthening of bilateral relations.
The US applauds Tadic's visit to Vukovar and meeting with Croatian President Ivo Josipovic and Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told the press.
The visit shows the constant efforts Croatia and Serbia are investing to strengthen bilateral relations and face the legacy of the tragic events that followed the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, he said.
Crowley said the US praised the Croatian and Serbian leaders for the progress in reconciliation and that it was looking forward to their future together in the European Union, with regional relations that benefited all.
The National Public Radio and other media carried news agency reports on Tadic's visit to Vukovar, saying that his apology at Ovcara, where more than 200 Croats were massacred, was "the strongest condemnation to date by a leader from Serbia of wartime atrocities committed by the country."
Laying a wreath at Ovcara, "a former pig farm where a mass grave remains a painful symbol for Croats of Serb brutality during the 1991 ethnic war, Tadic said he came to 'bow down before the victims'," said NPR.
