The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denounced the claims made by Croatian authorities regarding the expulsion of a Serbian diplomat, describing them as “incorrect”. They have called for evidence from the Croatian side to justify their decision. This comes after Croatia expelled Petar Novaković, an adviser in the Serbian embassy, in response to the expulsion of Hrvoje Šnjader, the first secretary of the Croatian embassy, from Serbia.
When questioned about whether Croatia’s retaliation was stronger than Serbia’s, Grlić Radman, the Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, stated that “it is a matter of choice” and referred to it as “reciprocal measures”. The Serbian ministry emphasized that Novaković’s activities in Croatia did not violate the Vienna Convention and that he was in Zagreb for consular affairs, not political ones.
In contrast, the Croatian diplomat Šnajder’s actions were labeled as “evidential actions that represent a gross violation of the Vienna Convention” in the press release. The media in Belgrade has labelled Šnajder as a spy and accused him of recruiting for the Croatian service.