"Visit Belgrade and say what you think about Serbia"

"Visit Belgrade and say what you think about Serbia"

Vulin's message to Milanovic was also that "the solution to all Croatia's problems is not to speak against Serbia, but in reforms and in maintaining good neighborly relations with other countries in the region."

Milanovic on Tuesday commented on the Hague decision to order Vojislav Seselj back in prison to say it would not destabilize the region, describing at the same time Serbian officials' claims that the decision was aimed against the government and PM Aleksandar Vucic as "incomprehensible."

Asked to comment on this statement, Vucic late on Tuesday declined, adding that he "expected that Aleksandar Vulin will respond to it."

On Wednesday, Vulin reminded the Croatian prime minister that Vucic had no problem to travel to Croatia "and says what he thinks."

"Come to us, meet the 250,000 (Serbs from Croatia) expelled during (Operation) Storm", the minister said while addressing journalists in a village near Pancevo, and added:

"Explain to those expelled Serbs that they did not leave Croatia for economic reasons, but fled in front of the pit and an Ustasha general, former Hague indictee Ante Gotovina, whom you called 'an angel'. Come, explain things to them, and visit some of our graves, we will understand, we know how to forgive, come and disregard your vanity - and do not speak so badly of Serbia, Serbia is not your enemy."

Vulin then noticed that "whenever someone in Croatia loses an election the first thing on their mind is that this happened because they failed to criticize Serbia loudly enough, or because they did not speak badly enough of Serbia and Serbs."

"No, Mr. Milanovic - you lost the election because your economic situation is bad, because your banking system fell apart, because you have too many unemployed," said Vulin, adding that Milanovic would not solve his country's problems by criticizing Serbia, "or become a better man and politician by throwing stones at Serbia."

According to Vulin, the Serbian government regrets that Milanovic "failed to overcome his vanity" and came to Belgrade for the December summit of regional countries and China.

"We wish (Milanovic) all the best, for Croatia to make progress, it is our neighbor and we want to have best possible relations," he said, adding that Milanovic, in order to win some future election, "would have to do what is now done in Serbia," and that he "lost because he does not have the courage to implement the reforms we are implementing and behave like our prime minister behaves."