Croatia will help Ukraine achieve two of its two top priorities - to peacefully reintegrate its occupied territories and join the European Union, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said during a visit to Lviv on Thursday.

“First the peaceful reintegration and then the European path are Ukraine’s two most important priorities. We are ten times smaller, but we are a friend whose advice may be useful. I’m not saying that it will be a quick solution, but it will certainly be a process to which we can contribute,” Plenkovic said in his talk at the University of Lviv.

“My message to the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian public, leaders, and to you students is to present Croatia’s unique experience in the process of peaceful reintegration,” he added.

The Ukrainian army is fighting pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region, where 14,000 people have been killed since 2014.

In 1998, Croatia peacefully reintegrated the east of the country which had been under the control of local Serb insurgents since 1991.

Plenkovic discussed the Croatian experience with the peaceful reintegration process with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday. The task force, set up in 2016 during Plenkovic’s first official visit to Kyiv as prime minister, is working on the exchange of experience.

On Thursday, the second and last day of his official visit, Plenkovic visited the Greek Catholic University in Lviv where he delivered a talk on the future of Europe. He reiterated Croatia’s strong support for Ukraine’s EU membership perspective, saying that it was crucial for the country’s development and cohesion.

He said that the ties and friendship between Croatia and Ukraine were strong and constituted the foundation of the partnership between the two countries.

“The Croatian and Ukrainian people have historical ties. We have ties here in western Ukraine, in the Carpathians, White Croatia. We say that we actually originate from this part of Europe,” Plenkovic said.

He is scheduled to meet with representatives of the White Croatia association and the Croatian Club.

The Croatian prime minister had a working lunch with the business community arranged by Maksym Kozytskyy, the governor of the Lviv District.

He also visited Lychakiv Cemetery, where he lit a candle at the monument to the Heavenly Hundred and laid a wreath at the monument commemorating Croats killed in World War I.

Later in the day, Plenkovic is scheduled to meet with teachers and students of the Croatian language and literature as well as with Mayor Andriy Sadovyi.