Croatia and Yugoslavia have signed a deal on a disputed Adriatic peninsula that will pave the way for a quick end to a 10-year-old UN peacekeeping mission there.
The Prevlaka peninsula lies on Croatia's southernmost border with Montenegro, which together with Serbia makes up Yugoslavia.
The strip of land, a couple of kilometres long and jutting into the Adriatic, is of strategic importance because it controls access to the fjord-like Boka Kotorska bay, Montenegro's major deep seaport.
Under the deal, both countries will keep the area demilitarised and have joint sea police patrols, although the peninsula will be part of Croatian territory.
Croatia has always seen Prevlaka as part of its territory. But Belgrade, under former President Slobodan Milosevic, wanted the area to remain part of Yugoslavia, mostly because of its strategic importance.
The United Nations is scheduled to end its tiny mission on the peninsula - used as a missile test site during the communist era - on December 15th.