Vučić Promised a Better Life for Croats in Serbia

The Southeast European region rests on peace between the Croatian and Serbian peoples, and nothing is more important than that, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated on Tuesday in Zagreb, adding that he believes in a shared future for the two nations. Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said that a permanent open inter-state dialogue between Croatia and Serbia is of utmost importance and represents a path to the future.

“This region rests on peace between the Serbian and Croatian peoples, and there is no more important relationship. Therefore, the Republic of Serbia will invest all its efforts to maintain peace with Croatia, with the Croatian people, to invest in stability, but also to preserve our identity,” Vučić said in his address at the Great Assembly of the Serbian National Council in Lisinski.

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He announced that he would soon extend an invitation to the president to visit Serbia. “She will be able to show the Croatian public and people the results of her invitation to me, what has been done for the members of the Croatian community in Serbia,” he said.

“We will strive to ensure they receive the Lectorship they requested, to have their representatives in municipalities and provincial administration, as well as greater representation in Belgrade, the government, and everywhere. We will not hide this from the Serbian public. Their better life will mean greater security for all of you here in Croatia,” Vučić said.

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“I promise that we in Serbia will hear the voice of Croats and Croatia, and we will do our best to understand their needs and desires, but we will look as much as we can… to help Serbs in Croatia and elsewhere to preserve their identity, language, and Cyrillic script,” Vučić stated.

“The Foundations of Permanent Dialogue and Cooperation”

Grabar-Kitarović said in her address at the SNV assembly that Vučić’s visit is “an expression of our shared belief that, despite the many differences that may burden us, we have a duty to establish the foundations of permanent dialogue and cooperation, which cannot be disrupted by occasional excesses and incidents.”

She emphasized that this is primarily in the interest of bilateral relations, but also in the interest of the success of political and economic processes in Southeast Europe as a space of peace, stability, cooperation, and development. “I want to believe that we have strengthened the foundations for achieving this goal in recent days. I hope that the coming days will show this through concrete and measurable results, for the benefit of both Croats and Serbs, for the benefit of the states of Serbia and Croatia.”

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She reminded that Croatia, since the beginning of its independence, has worked through special laws and many practical ways to improve the rights and living conditions of the Serbian minority, especially returnees.

“Our task is to make this fact increasingly visible in everyday life. I want the same as a Croatian woman and Croatian president for Croats in Serbia. Therefore, a permanent open inter-state dialogue between Croatia and Serbia is of utmost importance. This is the path to the future we want for our countries and peoples, and thus the best barrier to the repetition of tragedies that have cost our two nations so dearly.”