Croatia President Denies Insulting Bosnia in Israel

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, on a three-day visit to Israel, on Wednesday denied calling neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina an unstable country taken over by militant Islam and connected to Iran - remarks reported in a Jerusalem Post article that sparked hostile reactions in Bosnia and Herzegovina - and which the newspaper has since deleted.

Asked whether she made the reported statements about Bosnia, including that: "The country is now controlled by militant Islam, which is dominant in setting the agenda," she said: "Absolutely not. I spoke with President [Reuven] Rivlin in the context in which I talk about Bosnia and Herzegovina and our other neighbouring countries. And what, after all, I said at press conferences before meeting President Rivlin and [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, is that I want to see our neighbouring states as soon as possible in the EU."

The author of the Jerusalem Post article at the centre of the row, Greer Fay Cashman, clarified to BIRN that the President of Croatia had not spoken about Bosnia in the context of her talks with Israeli leaders about Iran.

"She mentioned Iran in one word only, strictly in relation to migrants who pose as refugees and who in some cases are connected to unsavoury elements. She did not mention the government of Bosnia, and her remark concerning connections to Iran and terrorists applied only to some of the migrants who had found their way to Bosnia," Cashman explained.

Meanwhile, the article has drawn a tough reaction from Bosnia and Herzegovina. On Tuesday, Sefik Dzaferovic, the Bosniak member of the state presidency, and Zeljko Komsic, the Croat member, condemned the reported statements.

"I feel sorry that the Croatian President still...