Snag Reported in Secret Croat-Serb Talks
Secret “Palestinian-style” peace talks between Croatian and Serbian officials in Norway reportedly suffered a setback Tuesday.
The Yugoslav news agency Tanjug said Serbs from the breakaway Krajina enclave accused Croatian President Franjo Tudjman of undermining the internationally mediated negotiations.
Tudjman reportedly sent guidelines to his delegation insisting that Krajina remain part of a Croatian state, Tanjug said. But the Serbs have repeatedly refused to discuss autonomy and are pressing for their own sovereign state.
Ethnic Serbs took control of one-third of Croatian territory in 1991; fighting flared again this year.
U.N. mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg, who as Norwegian foreign minister launched secret diplomacy between Israeli and Palestinian officials, has been trying to refocus attention on Serbian-Croatian ties.
Geneva diplomats said the Norway talks were kept secret at Croatia’s request because Zagreb considers it an internal matter.
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