Serbia and Croatia have each expelled a diplomat from the other country, further straining relations between the Balkan neighbours. The Serbian Foreign Affairs Ministry announced on Monday that the first secretary of the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade, Hrvoje Snajder, was declared persona non grata for alleged “gross stepping outside the framework of diplomatic norms” during his service.
In a reciprocal move, Croatia expelled a Serbian diplomat on Tuesday. Croatia's Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman stated: “We have decided that the adviser of the Embassy of Serbia in Croatia, Petar Novakovic, should be declared persona non grata in Croatia.”
Media close to the populist Serbian government reported that Snajder is accused of “spying activities” and “recruiting” people for Croatian secret services. The Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs rejected the grounds for the diplomat’s expulsion, calling Serbia's action “a step toward the deterioration of mutual relations” at a time “when the stability of southeastern Europe is of exceptional importance for the whole of Europe.”
Tensions between the two countries have been intermittent since the Balkan wars of the 1990s, when Serbian-led troops intervened in Croatia in a land grab operation that ended in defeat for Belgrade and the expulsion of tens of thousands of ethnic Serbs.
