Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar and her Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanović affirmed the two countries' commitment to the Brdo-Brijuni process and an expansion of the issues it covers as Pirc Musar travelled to Zagreb for her first visit abroad on 1 February.

Pirc Musar said that the Brdo-Brijuni Process, launched by Slovenia and Croatia in 2010 and aimed at advancing cooperation in the region and helping Western Balkan countries join the EU, featured prominently in the talks.

"I would like to see Croatia and Slovenia lead the dialogue between the other countries in the region", Pirc Musar said.

Slovenia has already shown that it can play an important role in the region in furthering Bosnia-Herzegovina's progress in terms of European integration, she said, a reference to a successful recent Slovenian campaign to secure EU membership status for Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Pirc Musar announced that the next Brdo-Brijuni meeting could be held outside Slovenia or Croatia, with one idea being to hold it in North Macedonia. She would also like the initiative to raise topics that "are maybe not as political or ideological", such as the emigration of young people from the region.

According to Milanović, the success of the Brdo-Brioni process partially depends on the willingness of others in the region. He welcomed the idea of holding the next meeting in North Macedonia as well as a broadening of the topics the initiative covers.

"I don't think this group [of presidents] could gather somewhere in Croatia. I think some of these people would not feel optimally in Croatia ... It could be North Macedonia, but I think this is a job better suited for madam president, who could test the waters in the coming months and see what people think," he assessed.

He explained this would allow them to better prepare and avoid the meeting ending "with a quarrel," which happened at the last two meetings, when "there was not even a joint press release or a declaration".

The pair were also asked about Milanović's recent statements about Kosovo having been "taken away from Serbia".

According to Pirc Musar, Slovenia's position on Kosovo is also clear. "Slovenia was one of the first countries to recognise Kosovo," she pointed out, adding she personally believed that the only solution for the region was for these countries to join the EU.

Milanović stressed that he was advocating Kosovo's recognition with representatives of countries that had not recognised it yet. He added that Russia would have to recognise Kosovo if it wanted to claim Crimea, and that Serbia would have to recognise Kosovo eventually.

"Meanwhile, for a start, the Kosovo authorities and my friends [Kosovo Prime Minister Albin] Kurti and [President] Vjosa Osmani will have to give some kind of status to the community of Serb municipalities in the north of Kosovo. They have signed that and fulfilling their obligations is what leads them forward, meaning to the West", he said.