Croatian president "hopes to see Nikolic in Zagreb"

Croatian president "hopes to see Nikolic in Zagreb"

She added that she would also like the Serbian government to, as part of its EU accession negotiations, "solve the issue of the position of the Croat minority in Serbia," something that she said belonged in Chapter 23, and "which Serbia must fulfil."

Grabar-Kitarovic also explained why she, during the campaign, referred to all citizens of Croatia as "Croats":

"According to me, those who are of Orthodox faith and Serbs by nationality are also Croats... they are Croats in the sense of being Croatian citizens."

Speaking about Bosnia-Herzegovina and the possibility that Croats there could form their own, and the country's third entity, she said:

"If the peoples reach such an agreement, then that is that, and so I would ask that it is no longer said that I stand in favor of a third entity, because that does not correspond with the truth."

Grabar-Kitarovic also revealed that she was convinced that most people in the Serb entity (RS) want Bosnia-Herzegovina "to be integrated into western integrations," and said this concerns both the EU and NATO, while she was looking forward to a meeting with RS President Milorad Dodik.

She observed that Dodik "immediately congratulated her on her victory," and that their conversation would be about concrete issues, among which is "why there has been no return of Croats to some parts of the RS, for example, to Posavina."

"Provocative and chauvinist"

The Croatian president's statement about "all citizens of Croatia being Croats" was described as "provocative and chauvinist" by the head of the Coalition of Refugee Associations, Miodrag Linta.

"The said statement represents a clear message to those Serbs remaining in Croatia that they are not welcome and that their best course of action is to move out or assimilate. There's the question of what rights Mrs. Grabar-Kitarovic will fight for, because according to the same yardstick, Croats who live in Serbia are Serbs and Croats who live in Bosnia are Bosnians," Linta said in a statement.

He also called on representatives of the Croat national minority in Serbia, Slaven Bacic, Petar Kuntic, and Tomislav Zigmanov to say publicly whether they support the Croatian president's stance that Serbs in Croatia are Croats, which would mean that Croats in Serbia are Serbs.

Inauguration

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic has said that she will invite Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic to her inauguration in Zagreb.

"It will be a good opportunity to settle some issues between our two countries," Grabar-Kitarovic told reporters in Brussels after filing her resignation to her position at NATO's headquarters on Thursday.

The new Croatian president, who is a member of the conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), stated that she would also invite Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga, since Croatia has recognized Kosovo.

After the narrow victory earlier this month, Grabar-Kitarovic addresses her supporters and said she would "fight for the rights of minorities in Croatia, but will ask nothing less for Croats in Serbia and Vojvodina and other neighboring countries" - implying that Serbia and its northern province were separate.

Tanjug reported that Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic commented on this to say it was "a deliberate slip of the tongue," but that he would not demand a formal apology.

After she was elected earlier this month, both Nikolic and Vucic sent messages congratulating Grabar-Kitarovic on the victory, and expressing hope they would have good cooperation and bilateral relations.