Belgrade - Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader visited Belgrade Friday in a bid to thaw relations which Serbia froze over Zagreb's recognition of Kosovo.

Sanader and Serbian Premier Mirko Cvetkovic acknowledged the problems burdening bilateral ties since the conflict last decade and even before, but said they were willing to work for better relations.

"We expect some issues to be resolved quickly and that some we will begin resolving in the future," Sanader told reporters after meeting Cvetkovic.

The Serbian prime minister spoke of "major differences" in stands of the two countries, singling out Croatia's decision to recognize Kosovo, which Belgrade considers its province more than a year since the majority Albanians declared its secession.

Croatia, invited to join NATO last April and the next in line for European Union membership, acted on a nod from the West when it recognized Kosovo last March.

Souring relations even more is the uncleared history dating back at least to World War II, when Croatia in the form of a puppet state set up by Nazi Germany exterminated tens of thousands of Serbs in camps.

More recently, in the 1990s, Serbia first fought Zagreb's independence with the Yugoslav Army, then by supporting insurgent Serbs, who at one point controlled a third of Croatian soil.

Sanader said "we will not forget the past, but neither will we live in it" and pledged to support Serbia's bid for closer ties with the EU and NATO. Belgrade's EU aspirations remain vigorous, but those for NATO have cooled significantly over the past years.

"We agreed we should open issues which can be resolved and to look to the future," Cvetkovic said at a joint press conference, "and to resolve these issues (of Kosovo and lawsuits) as we go along."

The Belgrade press this week quoted Cvetkovic as saying he would suggest that both Croatia and Serbia drop the genocide charges, but Sanader dismissed the idea. (dpa)