Croatia expects further steps from the Montenegrin authorities on open bilateral issues, including the issue of missing persons, compensation for Croatian camp inmates and the training ship "Jadran", said Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
In a review published in the "Hrvatski glasnik", he said that he is conducting a regular political dialogue with the President and Prime Minister of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović and Milojko Spajić, on issues that have remained unresolved for years, as well as at the ministerial level.
"We expect further steps by the Montenegrin authorities regarding missing persons, compensation for Croatian camp inmates, succession issues, the hijacked training ship "Jadran", border issues, hijacked property and registration of ownership by Croats of Boka Kotorska," said Plenković.
He said that they want to resolve these and other open bilateral issues in the spirit of good neighborly relations.
"This summer, due to the large fires that hit Montenegro, we provided assistance in extinguishing the fires by sending a firefighter," Plenković recalled.
He said that Croatia strongly advocates the European Union (EU) enlargement process, especially to the countries of Southeast Europe.
"But the prerequisite for membership remains the fulfillment of the criteria, the demonstration of real political will to respect European values, as well as the respect for the principle of good neighborly relations," Plenković stated.
According to him, Croatia is convinced that Croats in Montenegro, as before, will be a strong link and bridge towards the EU, as well as in the further development of relations between Croatia and Montenegro.
The Croatian community in Montenegro will continue to have the support of the Croatian Government in the future, he said, through numerous projects aimed at preserving and promoting Croatian culture, language, identity, but also protecting the rights and interests of Croats as a minority and indigenous people in Montenegro.
"We are pleased that the Josip Marković Cultural Center in Donja Lastva, which was built by Croats for their own needs in 1922, has been returned to the Croatian community after several years of negotiations," said Plenković.
Bonus video:
