RAMP OF SERBIA! The first secretary of the Croatian embassy was declared persona non grata

The Croatian diplomat grossly violated the Vienna Convention and went beyond diplomatic norms.

The first secretary of the Croatian embassy in Belgrade, Hrvoje Schneider, was declared persona non grata, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia announced, adding that the decision was made in accordance with Article 9 of the Vienna Convention, which regulates diplomatic-consular relations.

“During his professional engagement in the Republic of Serbia, Schneider grossly went beyond diplomatic norms and violated the mentioned Convention. On this occasion, a diplomatic note was delivered to the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia, Hidayet Biščević,” the Serbian Ministry announced.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as added, regrets the behavior of the aforementioned diplomat in the past period, which does not contribute to the improvement of bilateral relations between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Croatia, good-neighborly cooperation and overall raising of the level of peace and stability in the region.

The Ministry expects that the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Croatia will work together to build mutual trust, with the goal of achieving a common European future.

Although the specific reason for the expulsion of the Croatian diplomat was not stated, it is evident from the wording that it is espionage.

It is striking that this case of the expulsion of a diplomat from a NATO member occurred the day before the arrival of the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty, Jens Stoltenberg, in Belgrade.

At the same time, it is precisely these cases that show why Western countries put pressure on the security sector in Serbia, which culminated in sanctions and demands for the removal of the former director of the BIA, Aleksandar Vulin, who recently resigned from that position because of this.

According to Article 9 of the Vienna Convention, to which Serbia refers in the case of the Croatian diplomat, it is stated that the host country can at any time and without the obligation to explain its decision inform the country from which the diplomat is from that the head or any other member of the diplomatic staff of the mission is a persona non grata or that any other member of the mission staff is inadmissible.

In such a case, the country where the diplomat is from will, depending on the circumstances, recall the person in question or terminate his/her functions in the mission. A person can be declared non grata or inadmissible even before arriving in the country.

Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman told “24sata.hr” that he was surprised by Serbia’s decision.

“We are surprised. We have to see what it is about first,” he said.

Biščević did not reveal why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to expel Schneider.

“It’s a matter I don’t want to comment on, it’s not something I would get into right now. According to what the English would say ‘no comment’. And if I knew what he did, I shouldn’t say. I can’t go into details because it outside my scope,” said Biščević and thus practically admitted that the reason for which Schneider was declared persona non grata was actually espionage – which is really not within his, diplomatic scope.