President Zoran Milanovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic agreed on Monday that it was necessary to respect the fact that Croats are one of the three constituent peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and that it was necessary to continue working to ensure protection for their rights.

The Office of the President issued a statement saying that President Milanovic and PM Plenkovic today discussed the status of the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement, which was reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton in November 1995, and signed in Paris on 14 December that year. The Dayton Accords put an end to the war in that country.

“President Milanovic and Prime Minister Plenkovic share the view that it is necessary to respect the fact that Croats are one of the three constituent peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that Croatia has an obligation to insist on the protection of their status and rights,” said the statement, issued on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the signing of the accords.

The two officials agreed that Plenkovic would present Croatia's position on the matter at an international conference on the 25th anniversary of the Dayton peace agreement, to be organised by the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU) and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in Zagreb on Tuesday.