Ahead of visiting Croatia and Serbia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Belgrade to "resume dialog with Kosovo" after events in Kosovo led to relations becoming strained.

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have been renewed. This is why part of my job will be to convince Serbia to resume dialog with Kosovo, Angela Merkel said in a weekly online press release on the government's official website.

"There can be no European perspective for the region unless every last effort is made, despite past wounds which still run deep and hurt," the chancellor added.

She also went on to say that in addition to honoring the EU's principles, it was necessary to appraise whether each country wished to manifest good will toward its neighbor, peacefully resolve conflict and show respect for one another.

Merkel also applauded the arrest of war crimes suspects Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic and their transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.