Belgrade, September 2, 2016/Independent Balkan News Agency

By Milos Mitrovic

The agents of the Serbian Security Information Agency (BIA) have arrested in Belgrade today “a Croatian spy”, Vecernjenovosti daily reported via its website. The BIA action was conducted in cooperation with Serbian prosecutor’s office, according to the report.

Tatjana Sekulic, spokeswoman of the prosecutor’s office has confirmed that “one person has been arrested”. However, Sekulic was not able to reveal more details, as she told Radio-television of Serbia.

But Sekulic said that arrested person would be held for up to 48 hours.

Vecernjenovosti claim that the man arrested is a national of both Serbia and Croatia and that he has been working for the Croatian security service. Croatian portal index.hr reported that it was not clear whether he or she is an agent of Croatian Security Information Agency (SOA) or Military Security Information Agency (VSOA).

Index.hr speculates that the alleged spy could be sentenced up to 15 years in prison.

The news of the arrest came amidst serious tensions between Serbia and Croatia. Earlier this year Croatia has temporarily blocked Serbia-EU accession talks demanding from Belgrade to annul its universal law on war crimes suspected prosecution.

Furthermore, 21 anniversaries of Croatian military action “Storm” celebrations last month were marred with incidents such was setting Serbian flag on fire and preventing Serb minority concert by Croatian ultranationalists. In addition, Croatian court has annulled sentence to Branimir Glavas, indicted for killing Croatian Serbs in 1991. The Croatian court also rehabilitated Nazi collaborator Aloisius Stepinac.

Finally, amidst campaign for general elections, Croatia installed a monument to Miro Baresic, terrorist who in 1971 assassinated Vladimir Rolovic, Yugoslav ambassadorin Sweden; and the campaign was also an “excuse” for Croatian leader Zoran Milanovic to call Serbia “no country, but a handful of miserable people”.

Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic demanded from EU to react, but European Commission head Jean Claude Juncker issued a balanced statement provoking Vucic to say this was “making false symmetries”.