Croatia withdraws ambassador for consultations

Croatia withdraws ambassador for consultations

ZAGREB -- The Croatian Foreign Ministry has presented Charge d'Affaires of the Serbian embassy in Croatia Bosa Prodanovic with a protest letter.

It concerns Serb Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj's statements and the incident on Wednesday when he burned the Croatian flag in Belgrade.

?"Accused war criminal Vojislav Seselj uses hate speech, warmongering rhetoric and symbolism to influence the region, and particularly the relations between Serbia and Croatia, by burning the Croatian flag in front of a Serbian government institution," the Croatian ministry said.

The fact that the Serbian legal authorities have reacted and filed charges against Seselj is a step that aims to lessen the tension, the ministry pointed out.

The statement said that Croatian Ambassador to Serbia Gordan Markotic will be recalled to Zagreb for consultations.