Croatia’s PM Responding to Vucic: Belgrade Is Not Asked

Andrej Plenkovic (BETAPHOTO/HINA/Zvonimir KUHTIC)

Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic stated on March 20 that Zagreb, Pristina and Tirana did not have to ask for either Serbia or NATO’s permission to sign the declaration on developing defense cooperation.

“That is a memorandum of cooperation with no hostile character. I understand the urgency in finding problems elsewhere, but there are none in this text,” Plenkovic told reporters in Brussels, in response to a question about the statement of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic about Croatia, Albania and Kosovo having violated the sub-regional agreement on arms control from 1996, by signing the memorandum of defense cooperation this week. Vucic also said that he was “almost certain” that NATO had not been informed.

Plenkovic stated that the memorandum helped the efforts of Kosovo and Albania in their reforms and exchange of experience, the media in Croatia have reported. Asked about the situation in the Western Balkans, Plenkovic replied that he would use the session of the European Council to draw attention to the situation in the region, adding that Croatia should monitor stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the situation in Serbia.

Croatian Defense Minister Ivan Anusic also reacted to the Serbian authorities’ criticism of the memorandum, who said that “the time of Croatia asking Belgrade what and how it should do is over.” Earlier, the Foreign Ministry of Serbia announced that it would request a detailed explanation from the foreign ministries of Croatia and Albania about the signing of the trilateral memorandum of cooperation with Kosovo in defense.