Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, who is taking part in the NATO summit in Chicago, on Monday commented on the results of the Serbian presidential elections saying that "the Serbian people have chosen and we respect their will. In the European political spectrum, this is a political option that is less close to ours, but that is no reason not to cooperate."
They are our neighbours. A right-wing party is in power in Hungary as well and I believe we have concrete and good relations with that country, so there is no reason for personal relations to be an obstacle to normal and good relations with parties and politicians chosen by the people in a democratic race, Milanovic said.
In a close-run vote, Nikolic defeated Tadic with the result - 49.76 percent versus 47.15 - and broke an almost 12-year hold on power by the reformists who ousted Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.
Turnout was 46.8 percent.
Nikolic said on Sunday evening he had "nothing against" good relations between Serbia and Croatia, adding that the two countries should live in permanent peace.
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Monday congratulated Tomislav Nikolic on winning the election for Serbia's president, stressing they expected Nikolic to show commitment to cooperation and reconciliation in the region.
