The struggle for peace must be the most important duty of all politicians, Croatian President Ivo Josipovic said in the historic La Pergola theatre in Florence on Monday evening after receiving the Premio Galileo 2000 Prize for Peace.
Expressing gratitude for the prize, Josipovic said that he wanted to dedicate it to all war victims.
He recalled the numerous victims of various wars, stressing that Croatia and neighbouring countries shared the recent bitter experience of war.
Josipovic was presented with the award by conductor Zubin Mehta. The Premio Galileo 2000 prize was created by lawyer Alfonso De Virgiliis in 1996 as a musical prize. Over the years it started to be awarded for other areas as well, and the first Galileo prize for peace was awarded in 2003 to the President of Israel, Nobel Prize holder Shimon Peres.
Josipovic was given the award for his advocacy of the European vision of Southeast Europe, human rights and international justice.
President Josipovic has given a great contribution to the opening of Croatia and the entire region to European values, reconciliation of peoples in the territory of former Yugoslavia, and the implementation of values of democracy, reads the citation accompanying the prize.
This year's winners of the prize include European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.
Earlier in the day, Josipovic was taking part in the Conference on the State of the Union, and on the margins of the event he held talks with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and Luxembourg Prime Minister Juncker.
All speakers at the conference expressed clear and strong support for Croatia's joining the EU as soon as possible.
