Croatia–Serbia relations

Foreign relations between Croatia and Serbia are bound together by shared history, language and geography. The two states established diplomatic relations in 1996, following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Croatian War of Independence and the independence of Croatia. Modern diplomatic relations are functional but cold, stemming from historic nation-building conflict and divergent political ideologies. Their relationship holds geopolitical importance in Southeast Europe given their economic influence in the region.

They share a complicated relationship marked by differences in religion, politics, culture, and a variety of bilateral issues. With 241 kilometers of common border, the two states have multiple border disputes, namely around the Danube river and the islands of Šarengrad and Vukovar. Croatian and Serbian, official in Croatia and Serbia respectively, are mutually intelligible standard varieties of the Serbo-Croatian language. Between the two states, 186,633 Serbs live in Croatia with 57,900 Croats living in Serbia (as of 2011).

Croatia has an embassy in Belgrade and a general consulate in Subotica. Serbia has an embassy in Zagreb and two general consulates – one in Rijeka and one in Vukovar. Croatia is a member of the European Union (EU) and NATO, while Serbia is a candidate to join the former but not the latter organization.