Serbian diplomat persona non grata; Serbia denies reciprocity

Croatia retaliated against Serbia after Belgrade declared the First Secretary of the Croatian Embassy persona non grata yesterday. They retaliated by declaring the counselor of the Serbian embassy in Zagreb in Croatia "persona non grata". Belgrade has not yet announced the reasons for the expulsion of the Croatian diplomat, but Serbian media claim that he is suspected of espionage.

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs expressed its regret over Serbia's decision to declare the First Secretary of the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade "persona non grata." This is Hrvoje Šnajder, whom the Serbian Foreign Ministry said had gone far beyond diplomatic norms. No details were given, but Serbian media reported that he is suspected of espionage and recruitment for cooperation with Croatian intelligence.

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs regrets Serbia's decision to declare the First Secretary of the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade persona non grata. We are concerned that the expulsion of the Croatian diplomat puts additional pressure on the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade. This is happening at a time when there are pre-elections in Serbia. Although we had anticipated a tension in relations, we did not expect such a drastic move by Serbia regarding the expulsion decision, said Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman.

This, he said, has not been the practice until now, nor has it been the norm.

Especially when Croatia wants to improve good relations with all its neighbors, this action is truly worrying, he added.

Decision of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs: Counselor of the Serbian Embassy Petar Novaković persona non grata

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs reacted swiftly to Belgrade's action with a reciprocal measure.

In accordance with Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, we have decided to declare the Counselor of the Serbian Embassy in Zagreb, Petar Novaković, persona non grata in the territory of the Republic of Croatia. The note was delivered to the Serbian ambassador ten minutes ago, the minister confirmed.

"We completely reject the basis for the expulsion of the accredited Croatian diplomat and Serbia's decision is a step towards the deterioration of mutual relations, but also towards the further destabilization of the sensitive political and regional security situation at a time when stability in the Western Balkans is of great importance for all of Europe," the minister added.

Asked by the press whether Croatia had responded more harshly to Serbia for expelling a senior diplomat, Grlić Radman said that "this is a matter of choice."

On media writing and espionage: How does it go to whom, the media did not expel the diplomat

The minister explained that the reason for the expulsion of the Croatian diplomat was not explained to the Croatian ambassador to Serbia.

Yesterday, when our ambassador was invited to the Serbian Foreign Ministry to submit a note, he asked for the reason – they did not explain it to him. He was told that he did not need to give a reason or comment. That remained. We do not know the reason for this decision, which makes the action even more worrying, he said.

He commented on Serbian media reports claiming that the reason for the expulsion was espionage.

In this case, the staff member was not declared undesirable by the media, but by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is our communication partner. They have not given any reason that is important to us, and all other speculation is how it suits whom, said Grlić Radman.

"We have employees there who are doing their job. He is a diplomat of the rank of First Secretary and was doing his job to improve good relations," he concluded.

Serbia denies reciprocity in deportations and seeks evidence of violation of the Vienna Convention

The Serbian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday described as "incorrect" the claims of Croatian authorities that the expulsion of the Serbian diplomat was a reciprocal measure for the expulsion of the Croatian diplomatic representative from Belgrade and demanded evidence from the Croatian side to justify its decision.

The press release states that Novaković "has not at any time violated the provisions of the Vienna Convention, nor was he sent to Zagreb to perform a consular and non-political duty."

"We ask the Croatian side to provide us with evidence within two months of taking office and to inform the public about the ways in which he may have violated the provisions of the Vienna Convention," the ministry said.

Otherwise, the case of Croatian diplomat Šnajder "involves acts of evidence that constitute a flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention, of which the Croatian side has been informed," the statement said.

The Democratic Union of Croats in Vojvodina (DSHV) is concerned about the new tensions in relations between Croatia and Serbia.

The Democratic Union of Croats in Vojvodina (DSHV) on Tuesday expressed concern about new tensions in relations between Croatia and Serbia following the expulsion of a Croatian diplomat from Serbia.

Without going into the essence of this event, we express our concern for the future development of relations between the two countries and for the relations between the two peoples, said DSHV.

The party emphasizes that it will particularly monitor the consequences for the Croatian community in Serbia, which is entering a second election cycle.

We call on all parties to the conflict to act responsibly and on the media to contribute to calming tensions and reducing anti-Croatian content in public narratives through a rational approach and reporting, the press release concludes.

Campaigning is underway in Serbia for the republican and provincial elections on December 17th.

There were no other reactions from parties, public officials or NGOs in Vojvodina.

The left sees the case as pre-election propaganda.

The parliamentary left attributed the expulsion of the First Secretary of the Croatian Embassy from Serbia for alleged espionage and recruitment to the election campaign in that country, while the right demanded a tougher stance towards Serbia and the same response towards Serbian diplomats in Croatia.

On Tuesday, Siniša Hajdaš Dončić (SDP), chairman of the parliamentary committee on domestic policy and national security, said he would not call a committee meeting on the case, attributing it to the pre-election climate in Serbia.

This is certainly a pre-election story in Serbia. Just as the British secret service MI6 was accused of being behind the farmers' protest, Ferguson is seen as James Bond, he said, adding that this is the official position of the Serbian government. There is an election campaign in Serbia, he is an employee of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and I think the state should react with the same or similar action, said Siniša Hajdaš Dončić (SDP), chairman of the Committee on Internal Policy. and National Security.

Domagoj Hajduković (Social Democrat) also does not rule out that this is a pre-election move. This, he says, is underlined by the fact that the Serbian Foreign Ministry is very thin on the ground, as in its press statement it does not talk about the alleged anti-Serbian activities of the First Secretary, for which he is receiving the harshest punishment in diplomatic circles by being declared persona non grata.

Given the proximity of the elections in Serbia, Ivana Kekin (Možemo!) hopes that it will not be used for political purposes to aggravate relations for electoral points. In the current geopolitical situation, the last thing we need is an aggravation, even minimal, of relations in the Balkans. In this case, we would certainly condemn it, but let's wait and see what actually happened, she said.

The right is pushing for a tougher stance on Serbia

Nikola Grmoja (Most) says he does not know if the reason for the exclusion is a pre-election game, but he knows that Croatia must pursue a determined and well-thought-out policy towards Serbia and ensure that Serbia does not fulfill its obligations. Unfortunately, he points out, the commission that is supposed to monitor the fulfillment of the Chapter 23 criteria for Serbia's EU membership does not even fulfill them, and thus Plenkovic is making concessions to Serbia.

Stephen Bartulica (Domovinski pokret) finds the timing of this decision interesting, as it seems to him that Serbia has been desperately trying to divert attention from important problems for some time. These days, while Croatia remembers the most difficult days of its young history, it is no coincidence that Serbia today announces this decision. “Vučić and the Serbian authorities are still trying to play the victim and we will indignantly reject any attempt to relativize their role in the recent past,” he said. “Croatia cannot accept this decision without a harsher reaction and in diplomatic practice it is common for us to respond with the same measure of expelling a diplomat from Serbia and I would not be surprised if such a decision would follow from our side,” he said.

The parliamentary committee will request a report

Croatia does not need to respond "harshly" to Serbia until the situation is clarified, said Sinisa Hajdaš Dončić, chairman of the Committee for Internal Policy and National Security, on the "U mreži" program. He announced that the committee will request a report from the competent institutions in Croatia.

Serbia is already in election fever. I hope it has nothing to do with the preparations for the elections in Croatia, but – Mr. Vučić can behave very strangely, he added. He said that Croatia should not react “more forcefully” until the situation clears up. Croatia should react – but slowly, he said.

Marko Pavić (HDZ) said that this was delaying relations between Croatia and Serbia. He reiterated that Zagreb rejects all accusations. We believe that this is a pre-election ploy by Serbia. We condemn this and reserve the right to respond in kind.

With great anticipation, Mr. Markić of SOA announced in a recent interview – this is all part of the pre-election folklore that happens very often in Serbia, said Vesna Vučemilović (Hrvatski souverenisti)./Vijesti.hrt/