Right after the government decided to close his office, there are reports that former President Stjepan Mesić is helping INA regain its oil fields in Syria. Coincidence?
Although almost all members of the Syrian government were against the return of INA to its former oil fields in Syria, because of weapons which Croatia indirectly delivered to Syrian rebels, thanks to the lobbying of former Croatian President Stjepan Mesić with his friend, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, INA’s oil fields will remain the property of INA and its workers can return there. It is well-known that the Syrian government was outraged after Croatia exported military equipment and weapons which, through Jordan and Turkey, ended up in the hands of Syrian rebels, reports Večernji List on April 16, 2016.
The news that Syrian officials, including President Bashar al-Assad, were outraged at Croatia has been confirmed by his former adviser Ahmed Munir who said at the time that “Croats have closed the doors to Syria and oil fields because they stabbed Syrians in the back”. However, according to sources from the Syrian Foreign Ministry, thanks to a rapid intervention by Stjepan Mesić with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian government has withdrawn its decision to grant INA oil fields to Chinese and Russian oil companies.
According to sources, Mesić was expected to visit Syria at the end of last year and hold talks with President al-Assad, however, the visit was cancelled for safety reasons. Sources claim that Mesić has been in contact with Bashar al-Assad the whole time and that they have exchanged letters, messages and opinions through various intermediaries.
The friendship between the two presidents dates back to 2004 when Mesić visited Syria during his Arab tour to officially open the Croatian Honorary Consulate. He also participated at the Syrian-Croatian economic forum. Mesić again visited Syria in 2008 when he came to meet with Croatian soldiers who were participating in the UN peacekeeping mission on the Golan Heights. A year later, in 2009, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Croatia at the invitation of Mesić and became the first president of the Syrian Arab Republic to visit Croatia. After the end of his term in office, Mesić remained on very good terms and in constant contact with al-Assad.
However, these reports have to be seen in the context of the recent decision by the new Croatian government to close down the Office of Former President Mesić, which still needs to be confirmed by Parliament. One wonders whether more similar stories might appear in the next few days.
