Prime Minister responds to President's criticism

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Wednesday responded to sharp criticism from President and Commander-in-Chief Zoran Milanović, who accused the government of failing to protect Croatia’s national interests in connection with the purchase of French Rafale fighter jets.

In a statement released Tuesday, Milanović claimed that after Croatia acquired twelve Rafale aircraft, France went on to sell a more advanced version of the same fighter to Serbia. He argued that Croatia had been assigned a merely “useful role” in efforts to draw Serbia closer to the West.

Plenković rejected those claims, insisting that the aircraft sold to Croatia are superior to those delivered to countries outside NATO, including Serbia.

“The equipment on our planes is more complete, more advanced and more interoperable than the planes sold to Serbia,” the prime minister said. He added that countries producing advanced military technology routinely sell weapons systems to multiple states with varying political and security relationships.

Milanović countered that the planned upgrade of the Croatian Rafales, less than a year after their delivery, was proof that France had sold Serbia a superior product.

The Ministry of Defence dismissed that assertion, explaining that Croatia - like all Rafale operators - is upgrading its aircraft from the F3-R standard to the newer F4 technology as part of a planned modernization process.