The latest negative statements from Croatia were the result of the election campaign taking place in this country and an attempt to get more voters to their side, Bosnia's prime minister Denis Zvizdic said, Monday, commenting the relations between the two countries.

“As far as Croatia is concerned, I can clearly say from the position I held over the past four years that Croatia was a strong supporter of Bosnia's European integration process and it facilitated many meetings for us,” Zvizdic said. “Together with us, they improved the EU integration process’ dynamics and this shows the true neighbourly relation between our countries.”

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic's office responded, Sunday, to a statement Bosnian Presidency Chairman Zeljko Komsic made on Saturday, saying that his unfounded anti-Croatian rhetoric confirmed that he was not only an illegitimate representative of Bosnian Croats but also an irrelevant interlocutor in international relations.

According to a press release Komsic office published on Saturday, he told a UN official in New York that the Bosnian Serb entity on Republika Srpska “institutionally denies the genocide committed against Bosniaks in Srebrenica and Podrinje”, and that Croatia denies “the crime of genocide against Serbs, Roma and Jews” committed during WWII under the Nazi-aligned NDH (Independent State of Croatia) ” through the public and political activity of some individuals.”

On the other hand, he warned that there are some open issues between the two countries, such as the border agreement which the Croatian side is still to ratify.

“There is also the issue of Bosnia's state property in Croatia, the Peljesac bridge, Trgovska gora and the Busko jezero issue. We expect Croatia to send good neighbourly messages and to respect provisions of international law and conventions,” he noted.

He touched upon the latest issue of Trgovska gora, near the border between Bosnia and Croatia, where Croatia intends to dump its nuclear waste, but Bosnian authorities and residents of the Bosnian town of Novi Grad say it will threaten people's health and the surrounding eco-system, saying that should this be the final location, it would threaten the lives of the people living some 800 meters from the dump-site.

If it comes to that, Bosnia will be forced to use all available provisions from international conventions, including international arbitration, Zvizdic noted.