Dacic: Croatia systematically building attitude of hatred towards Serbia, Serbs

BELGRADE - In a reaction to recent statements by Croatian FM Gordan Grlic Radman, Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic said on Monday no one had the right to lecture Serbia on foreign policy and noted that Croatia was "systematically building an attitude of hatred towards Serbia and Serbs."

"Simply, that is something where we have a problem with Croatia - the fact an attitude of hatred towards Serbia and Serbs is being built there," Dacic said on Pink TV.

You cannot insult the president of a country without insulting the country itself, because the president is a representative of that country, Dacic said, commenting on Grlic Radman's statement about Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lodged a protest note with the Croatian embassy in Belgrade over Grlic Radman's insulting remarks.

Dacic said that, in international relations, a protest note was a form of communication between highest-ranking officials of two countries.

It is no coincidence Serbia and its president are a political topic in the Croatian public and media, he said.

"We have a situation where even now, after the (protest) note, they are continuing the narrative of somehow advising Serbia that we should switch to the right side of history, as if they have always known how to judge what the right side is," Dacic noted.

Diplomacy is an extraordinary resource for intelligence structures as there are spies, intelligence officers and agents amongst diplomats, Dacic added.

Asked about the high level of Croatia's interest in the recent Serbian elections, Dacic responded Croatia was interested in anything that could cause a form of political instability in Serbia.

"Vucic had the initiative several times and, on several occasions, I have taken part in meetings, including with (former Croatian President) Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic and PM (Andrej) Plenkovic, where we discussed normalisation of our relations, but I was never convinced it is really going to happen," Dacic concluded.