The upcoming visit of Serbian President Boris Tadic to Vukovar is a symbolic move that will ease the tension between Serbia and Croatia, whose relations are still burdened by the past, the office of Croatian President Ivo Josipovic assessed Tuesday.

Noting that this will be the first time a Serbian president has visited Vukovar, Croatian news agency Hina writes that Josipovic's office considers the visit to Vukovar a logical follow up to Tadic's visit to Srebrenica, since Ovcara is the site of another big massacre that must not be forgotten.

The Serbian president will arrive on an official visit to Croatia at the end of November, but both sides have agreed that Vukovar should be given special importance apart from the official visit, which will focus on bilateral relations and open issues, said the source in the Croatian president's office.

Josipovic's office expects that the majority of the Croatian public will accept Tadic's visit to Vukovar as a step towards improving relations between Croatia and Serbia, but is also prepared for possible legitimate protests of those who oppose the visit, writes Hina.