Croatian delegation arrives in Washington for NATO summit

The annual meeting of the NATO alliance is being held in Washington this week. The focus of the meeting is on the wars in Ukraine and Palestine, as well as the future of the NATO alliance. The military alliance is marking the 75th anniversary of its formation amid security threats arising from the war in Ukraine, the Israeli war on Palestine and growing tensions between Washington and China.

The President of the United States President, Joe Biden, is hosting NATO leaders in Washington, DC, this week. President Biden will be looking to make use of this international stage to convince his allies at home and abroad that he is competent to lead. The 81-year-old has refused to step down as the Democratic candidate at the 2024 presidential elections in spite of a horrific performance in his recent debate against Republican Donald Trump on June 27th.

Representing Croatia at the gathering are President Zoran Milanović, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman, and Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ivan Anušić.

Jandroković is also participating in the NATO parliamentary gathering, ahead of which he outlined his primary points of discussion: "The main topics are Ukraine and continued support, even increasing that support. The future of NATO given the significantly changes security situation in the world. And obviously, the protection of our foundational values, freedom, peace, democracy and the rule of law. Everything that the NATO alliance and all western democratic organizations are founded on."

Jandroković also called out some politicians in the region: "I will also address the situation in our region, because it's well known that there are numerous politicians active there who are proxy's for the Russian regime. We cannot be entirely happy with the situation in our region. Once we were convinced that all of those countries would follow Croatia's path and become members of NATO and the European Union, however, this is now changing and some of those countries obviously see themselves in some other future, and not belonging to Euro-Atlantic integration."

In related news, the visit by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to China, has caused a stir in Europe and the United States. Orban, whose country has just assumed the EU’s six month rotating presidency has made visits to Kiev and Moscow as well, in a bid to initiate peace talks and bring an end to the war in Ukraine. His talks in Beijing have provided support to China's six-point peace plan, which has not met with positive reactions from Western countries.

"We are worried about this visit, because it certainly does not bring anything productive or useful to solve the crisis in Ukraine. We will continue to work with President Zelenskyy to build peace, but such unannounced meetings are a cause for concern," said White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby.

Source: HRT