Croatia and Serbia on Monday (20 June) signed a declaration on improving relations aimed at protecting their respective minorities and definitively define their shared border.
The text is “the first step in the thawing relations between Croatia and Serbia,” Serbian prime minister Aleksandar Vucic said.
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said the signature showed “a genuine willingness on both sides to move forward in resolving outstanding issues”.
Under the declaration, the two countries committed to actively initiate or accelerate processes aimed at enhancing bilateral protection of minorities – Serbs in Croatia and Croats in Serbia.
The text also plans to start negotiations to define the border line between the two countries according to international law and to accelerate the implementation of a 2001 agreement on life after Yugoslavia.
The two countries also commit to make an effort to search for missing persons from the wars.