Plenković: Sending troops to Ukraine is not the only way to help

A day after the 'coalition of the willing' meeting, after which French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 26 countries were ready to send their soldiers to Ukrainian territory in the event of a ceasefire, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković reiterated that Croatia would not send its troops there. He also called the claims by the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabić, that Croatia is calling for a civil war in Serbia, ridiculous.

"The claims that Croatia wants a civil war in Serbia are ridiculous"

On Monday, Plenković participated in a panel at the Bled Strategic Forum on the prospects that candidate countries and the European Union will be ready for enlargement by 2030. He expressed skepticism about this due to the complexity of the current political situation, from the blockade of North Macedonia's European path and threats of secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina, to the situation in Serbia, which is on the verge of civil war. “Don't think that I am advocating such a scenario, I am just describing it coldly,” Prime Minister Andrej Plenković emphasized after the panel.

Prime Minister Plenković reiterated today that Croatia does not want a civil war in Serbia, but the opposite, but that he has quite direct knowledge of what is happening in Croatia's neighborhood and that the situation with the protests that have been going on in Serbia for two years is not usual.

“Croatia is observing the situation there as an interested, even worried neighbor,” said Plenković. He rejected the claim that his comments are interference in Serbia's internal affairs. “What is the use of saying that everything is great and fantastic,” he asked.

"Sending soldiers to Ukraine is not the only way to help"

Speaking about support for Ukraine, he said that the position of the Croatian Government has been clear for years. However, President Zoran Milanović and other actors have been saying something that is not true for two years, and the media has been reporting it uncritically and presenting false dilemmas to the public, according to Plenković.

Journalists also asked in what way Croatia will continue to help Ukraine.

“We are a country and a government, and we believe that the majority of the Croatian people share this attitude, in solidarity with Ukraine as a victim of Russian aggression and Putin's policies. So far, we have given Ukraine 14 packages of military aid and we will continue with this bilateral aid. Different countries participating in the coalition of the willing have different ways of articulating and providing aid to Ukraine. Sending troops to Ukraine is not the only way to help. You have countries like Poland and Italy, which are also in the coalition of the willing like Croatia, and they also do not send soldiers. There are no false dilemmas there because no one is forcing them. People hear what is true, then they stick to the truth,” Plenković said.

He also commented on Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement that Western military forces deployed in Ukraine will be considered legitimate targets of Russian attacks. He reminded that the coalition of the willing will send forces only in case of a ceasefire.

“Putin's statement shows in the best possible way why the security of Ukraine is important for the whole of Europe,” concluded the Prime Minister.

Source: HRT