The Slovenian president announced his decision not to attend the inauguration in Belgrade following Thursday's unveiling of a memorial to Bosnians fallen on the Isonzo Front during the Great War, but would not explain on the grounds that the occasion was not appropriate.

The ceremony at Log pod Mangartom was also attended by Bosnian Presidency Chairman Bakir Izetbegović, who announced that he would not take part in Nikolić's inauguration either, noting that Nikolić would yet need to prove willing to make the effort for reconciliation between Serbs and Bosniaks.

"The president does not attend inaugurations, but he has attended the inauguration of Croatian President Ivo Josipović as the president of a neighbouring country. However, President Türk believes that President Nikolić's statements about Srebrenica and Vukovar were inappropriate," the president's office stated.

The ceremony upon Nikolić's inauguration will also not be attended by Josipović, who like Izetbegović cited his denial of the genocide in Srebrenica and comments about Vukovar as the reason.

Nikolić raised controversy with the statement that the Srebrenica massacre of 1995 was not genocide, but that "grave war crimes were committed by some Serbs, who should be found, prosecuted and punished". He also said that Vukovar was a Serb city and no place for Croats to return to.