Croatia PM Cancels Belgrade Trip over War Crimes Suspect

Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic on Friday canceled a planned trip to Serbia next month amid growing tensions between the former foes sparked by the release of Serb war crimes suspect Vojislav Seselj on health grounds.

Milanovic decided not to attend a December 16 meeting in Belgrade of his central and eastern European counterparts along with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, citing the Serbian authorities' lack of action in response to inflammatory statements from Seselj, a government spokesman told AFP.

"Milanovic was expecting that the Belgrade government would distance itself from Seselj's statements and behavior notably as these are people who were in his party in the 1990s" when wars tore apart the former Yugoslavia, spokesman Nikola Jelic said.

He was referring to Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and President Tomislav Nikolic, once Seselj's close allies.

Since the Serbian government failed to condemn Seselj, Milanovic considers it was "inappropriate" to attend the meeting, Jelic said.

Firebrand ultra-nationalist Seselj returned home to Serbia on November 12 after a U.N. court released him for cancer treatment.

Seselj, who had spent almost 12 years in detention, is awaiting a verdict from the U.N. tribunal in The Hague over charges he incited massacres during the wars in Croatia and Bosnia in the 1990s.

His trial -- punctuated by his virulent outbursts against the judges -- wrapped up in March 2012.

Since his return, the 60-year-old has fired off a series of inflammatory comments, vowing to unseat his once close allies.

He also attracted about 10,000 ultra-nationalist supporters at a Belgrade rally where he called for Serbia to turn towards Russia instead of "its enemies" in the West.

Seselj's release provoked outrage among war victims.

On Thursday, EU parliament adopted a resolution condemning "Seselj's warmongering, incitement to hatred and encouragement of territorial claims and his attempts to derail Serbia from its European path."

But, Vucic condemned the resolution, calling it "insulting and disturbing" for his country.

Croatia's proclamation of independence from the former Yugoslavia sparked the 1991-1995 war with rebel Serbs backed by the Belgrade regime.

Relations between Zagreb and Belgrade have gradually improved since the war.