Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said Tuesday that Croatia had failed to prove that the Serbian side had any intent to commit genocide during the 1991/95 war in Croatia, but on the other hand, even though Serbia’s counter-claim had been rejected, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had found that Croatia had committed a mass crime against Serbs.

The ICJ issued a judgment today dismissing both the Croatian claim and the Serbian counter-claim in a case where each country had suit each other for committing genocide against each other`s populations.

The ruling marked an end to the dispute between the two countries first instituted by Croatia 15-and-a-half years ago.

In his address to the public following the reading of the judgment, Nikolic stressed that Croatia had failed to prove the genocidal intent of the Serbian side in the conflict.

“On the other hand, although Serbia’s counter-claim has not been adopted, the ICJ found that the Croatian authorities had been aware that the military offensive ‘Storm’ would lead to the expulsion of the civilian population. In this way, the highest legal institution of the United Nations confirmed that the Croatian forces committed mass crimes against Serbs in Croatia,” Nikolic said.

Despite the injustices, this is an encouraging step forward, the president stressed.

“I sincerely hope that in time to come, both Serbia and Croatia will be brave enough to act in good faith, resolving all issues together, to bring our region into a period of lasting peace and prosperity,” President Nikolic said.