President: Yesterday’s incident damaged relations between Croatia and Serbia

Serbia must now determine whether Vojislav Šešelj actually did what he claims, and if it is established that he indeed trampled on the Croatian flag, he should be appropriately punished, said Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Thursday during her visit to the islands of the Šibenik archipelago and the coastal area of Šibenik-Knin County, where she has temporarily relocated her office.

After visiting the islands of Žirje and Prvić, the president commented on the incident that was caused by war criminal Šešelj trampling on the Croatian flag in the Serbian Assembly on Wednesday, which led the delegation of the Croatian Parliament to cut short its visit to Serbia.

>>> Plenković expects Serbia to unequivocally condemn Šešelj’s incident

If it is established that Šešelj truly trampled on the Croatian flag, he should be appropriately punished, Grabar-Kitarović stated.

Yesterday’s incident has damaged relations between Croatia and Serbia, she added, expressing hope that it will not provoke further verbal violence and that there will be no other consequences.

She also stated that she does not know who told Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić that a Serbian flag was burned during his stay in Croatia, but that this is not true and that the Serbian embassy in Croatia can confirm this.

>>> President condemned the ‘savagery of a war criminal’, Jandroković cannot overlook the incident

The president also touched on her meeting with the families of firefighters who died on the island of Kornat, whom she met this morning in Šibenik, but she did not want to disclose what they discussed, emphasizing that she does not want to betray their trust and that she regrets that the state has not apologized for the pain they have endured.

She conveyed all this from the island of Prvić in the Šibenik archipelago, which she visited after touring Žirje, where she became acquainted with the island’s problems.

We must do much more for our islands, as we see that life there is not easy, but we also see that they are beautiful and that living conditions could be better if we made more effort, she said, noting that she has committed to helping the residents of Žirje by the end of the year to introduce electricity and water to part of the island.

>>> Šešelj desecrated the Croatian flag, Jandroković leaves Serbia early

Later in the day, the president will visit Tribunj, Betina, and the Municipality of Murter-Kornati, thus concluding her stay in Šibenik-Knin County, where she has temporarily relocated her office.

The Ministry of Interior of Serbia has not received a report of the incident, there are no requests against Šešelj

Serbian Minister of Police Nebojša Stefanović stated on Thursday that the Ministry of Interior has not yet received any request or report regarding the incident that prompted the interruption of the official visit of the Croatian Parliament delegation to Serbia, reported Radio-Television of Serbia (RTS).

“I do not know if it happened. I only saw about this incident in the media. We have not received any request or report regarding this,” Stefanović said in response to a journalist’s question about the incident that has become one of the key news items. Stefanović announced that the Ministry of Interior will engage if required by the prosecution, but since there is no report, “that has not happened for now.”

>>> Vučić: trampling the Croatian flag is unacceptable, regrets the interruption of Jandroković’s visit

The minister, commenting on claims that there is no footage of the incident showing Šešelj trampling the Croatian flag, said he does not know if there is even video surveillance at the entrance to the parliament, nor is there a request for that footage. He is aware, he says, of the incident that Šešelj caused earlier on Wednesday on TV Hepi, and it has been reported to the police. Stefanović confirmed that there is a report against Šešelj for another incident, and that “the police are taking certain actions,” noting that this involves “some kind of conflict between Šešelj and LSV leader Nenad Čanak,” a representative whom Šešelj has previously threatened.

SRS leader Vojislav Šešelj said today at a press conference in the Serbian Assembly that he will continue to trample the Croatian flag and confirmed that the radicals do not have footage of the incident, and in a statement to the media, the Serbian Assembly stated that there is no video footage of the incident because that part of the hall of the Serbian parliament where the flags stood is in a “blind spot” of the assembly’s video surveillance cameras.