Croatian diplomat expelled from Serbia for "espionage"; MVEP: We will respond

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia announced today that it has declared the first secretary of the Croatian Embassy in Serbia, Hrvoj Šnajder, an undesirable person because he "grossly went beyond the scope of diplomatic norms", announced the Serbian foreign ministry. Then the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP) of the Republic of Croatia expressed its regret for such a decision and said that it reserves the right to respond to this move at the time and in the way it chooses.

“This is documented espionage and recruitment to work for the Croatian service. This means that evidence has been collected that Hrvoj Šnajder violated the Vienna Convention that regulates diplomatic-consular relations and as a result he was declared persona non grata, according to the pro-government "Večernje Novosti" newspaper.

“On November 20, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia decided to, in accordance with Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, declare Hrvoj Šnajder, the first secretary at the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Belgrade, to be persona non grata,” it is stated. in the press release.

Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations states that "the receiving state may at any time and without the obligation to explain its decision, inform the sending state that the head or any other member of the diplomatic staff of the mission is persona non grata."

During his professional engagement in Serbia, Šnajder, according to the the Serbian foreign ministry, "grossly departed from the framework of diplomatic norms" and violated the Vienna Convention, and on this occasion a diplomatic note was delivered to the Croatian ambassador Hidajet Biščević.

The MVEP of the Republic of Croatia expresses its regret for Serbia's decision and says that it will decide how to respond

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia announced that it regrets the decision of the Republic of Serbia to declare the first secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Belgrade persona non grata.

“We completely reject the grounds for expelling an accredited Croatian diplomat. The decision of the Republic of Serbia represents a step towards the deterioration of mutual relations, as well as further destabilization of sensitive regional political and security situations at a time when stability in South-Eastern Europe is of exceptional importance for the whole of Europe,” states the press release.

We are concerned that the expulsion of the Croatian diplomat represents additional pressure on the employees of the Croatian embassy in Belgrade, which is particularly manifested during the pre-election period in the Republic of Serbia. In this regard, we express our regret that the anticipated escalation of relations by the Republic of Serbia at this time was achieved with a drastic decision to expel diplomats.

“The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs reserves the right to respond to this move at the time and in the manner it chooses,” said the press release of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia.

Croatian Embassy without comment

The Croatian embassy was not available to comment on this decision.

The Serbian foreign ministry emphasizes that it "regrets the behavior of the aforementioned diplomat in the past period, which does not contribute to the improvement of bilateral relations between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Croatia, good-neighborly cooperation and overall raising of the level of peace and stability in the region.”

The Serbian foreign ministry also "expresses the expectation that the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Croatia will work together to build mutual trust, with the goal of achieving a common European future".

Source: HRT