Serbia, Hungary close to historic deal, president says

BUDAPEST Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said on Tuesday evening that his visit to Hungary managed to achieve “something close to a historic agreement”. He added that the visit also removed everything that had divided the two peoples and what had sometimes been used by others to thwart a better life of Serbs and Hungarians. Serbia, Hungary close to historic deal, president says “Today, an agreement between Serbia and Hungary has been reached, which should have been realized much earlier, as both countries decided to live in the future, and not in the past. During a war, individuals from every nation are ready to commit or order crimes, but that cannot be attached to the entire nations and states thus determining their future for all times,” Nikolic told the Hungarian TV. Nikolic said that the reconciliation would benefit the Serb minority in Hungary and the Hungarian minority in Serbia in concrete terms, as the friendly ties between the two states would affect a degree of economic development and an extent to which minority rights could be claimed. According to the president, the decision by the Serbian and Hungarian presidents to pay tribute to the victims of World War II together is a sure signal to the minorities that they could continue attending school classes in their own language, and foster their culture and religion. Nikolic voiced expectation that Hungary would be in the group of countries led by Sweden that would lobby for Serbia's accession to the EU and that it would give useful advice to Serbia so that it could avoid certain mistakes in the EU integration process. “Serbia and Hungary share a common problem of bogus asylum seekers who are rushing to the EU across the two countries, because of which Serbia is facing threats that visa requirements could be restored for the country,” he underlined. Nikolic told Hungarian reporters that he would make a decision within a few days about granting a pardon to five young men of Hungarian nationality, who were sentenced to a total of 61 years in prison in 2005 for brutal beating and abuse of Novi Sad's citizen Zoran Petrovic. The president, however, noted that the crime against Petrovic was horrible, adding that one should not think about who the perpetrators were, as the Serbian prosecution also delivered severe punishments to murderers of Frenchman Brice Taton. “I gave my word that I will never grant a pardon to rapists, drug dealers, multiple offenders, and perpetrators of brutal murders,” Nikolic noted. At the end of his two-day official stay in Hungary, the Serbian president visited the St. George's Church and the Cultural and Documentation Center of Serbs in Budapest on Tuesday evening. During his visit to Hungary, Nikolic paid a great attention to the position of the Serb national minority and its institutions. Tomislav Nikolic (Tanjug) Tanjug

Serbia, Hungary close to historic deal, president says

“Today, an agreement between Serbia and Hungary has been reached, which should have been realized much earlier, as both countries decided to live in the future, and not in the past. During a war, individuals from every nation are ready to commit or order crimes, but that cannot be attached to the entire nations and states thus determining their future for all times,” Nikolić told the Hungarian TV.

Nikolić said that the reconciliation would benefit the Serb minority in Hungary and the Hungarian minority in Serbia in concrete terms, as the friendly ties between the two states would affect a degree of economic development and an extent to which minority rights could be claimed.

According to the president, the decision by the Serbian and Hungarian presidents to pay tribute to the victims of World War II together is a sure signal to the minorities that they could continue attending school classes in their own language, and foster their culture and religion.

Nikolić voiced expectation that Hungary would be in the group of countries led by Sweden that would lobby for Serbia's accession to the EU and that it would give useful advice to Serbia so that it could avoid certain mistakes in the EU integration process.

“Serbia and Hungary share a common problem of bogus asylum seekers who are rushing to the EU across the two countries, because of which Serbia is facing threats that visa requirements could be restored for the country,” he underlined.

Nikolić told Hungarian reporters that he would make a decision within a few days about granting a pardon to five young men of Hungarian nationality, who were sentenced to a total of 61 years in prison in 2005 for brutal beating and abuse of Novi Sad's citizen Zoran Petrović.

The president, however, noted that the crime against Petrović was horrible, adding that one should not think about who the perpetrators were, as the Serbian prosecution also delivered severe punishments to murderers of Frenchman Brice Taton.

“I gave my word that I will never grant a pardon to rapists, drug dealers, multiple offenders, and perpetrators of brutal murders,” Nikolić noted.

At the end of his two-day official stay in Hungary, the Serbian president visited the St. George's Church and the Cultural and Documentation Center of Serbs in Budapest on Tuesday evening.

During his visit to Hungary, Nikolić paid a great attention to the position of the Serb national minority and its institutions.