Serbian President Boris Tadic has stated that his visit to Vukovar, Croatia, is part of his personal and political philosophy that war victims deserve respect, and pointed out that the visit must not be politically instrumentalized in any way.

Tadic, who is scheduled to pay two visits to Croatia in November, first to eastern Croatia and second to Zagreb, stated for the Sunday edition of the Zagreb-based daily Jutarnji List that he wanted to visit Vukovar for quite a while, adding that he has always believed that this visit should not be related to any official visit.

He underlined that the dark page of the 20th century Serbian-Croatian relations should be closed and that the two nations should turn to the 21st century.

My visit to Srebrenica was not related to any political event. The visit to Vukovar is very important, and that day must not be politically instrumentalized in any way, Tadic said.

Tadic underlined that his visit to Vukovar is a logical consequence of his apology to all Croats who have been hurt in the name of Serbia and the Serbian people, and added that this is not only a symbolic move and a message to the Croatian people, but also a message to all people who live in Southeastern Europe that such incidents should never happen again.

Having found a regional statesman like Ivo Josipovic with whom I see eye to eye, I believe that we may send a message together from Vukovar to the EU that this part of Southeastern Europe is not always the way Europe tends to see it, the Serbian president said. He said that we have to leave the 20th century behind us, adding that it is time to open a new chapter and turn to the 21st century.