Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on Wednesday met German President Horst Koehler for talks on bilateral relations and the situation in southeastern Europe. "I have appealed for the continuation of cooperation, notably between our economies. This cooperation is possible since Croatia has potential, but it still lacks the capital to activate that potential," President Mesic said after meeting Koehler in Berlin.
Germany can help Croatia activate its human and economic potential, the Croatian head of state said. The two presidents also discussed the situation in the region, particularly in Bosnia-Herzegovina. "We have talked about how Europe can help the region to deal with some of its neuralgic points. This means that Europe must make it possible for the (international) High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina to eliminate from politics all those who do not recognise or who undermine Bosnia-Herzegovina, because this hiders the stabilisation of the entire region and the region's European aspirations," President Mesic said.
He added that he had acquainted the German president with his position on the Bosnian Serb entity's political leadership. "What (Bosnian Serb prime minister) Milorad Dodik is doing today, is a continuation of the policy pursued by Slobodan Milosevic, but in a modified manner. That policy is no longer carried out by tanks and artillery or through crimes such as those in Srebrenica, but through the nonrecognition and breaking up of Bosnia-Herzegovina, however, the result may be the same," President Mesic said. During his farewell visit to Germany, the Croatian president, whose second and last term expires in February, also met other German officials. Later on Wednesday, he will give a talk at a dinner organised by the German committee for economic relations with eastern Europe.