PM Plenkovic: Croatia supports Ukraine as it had been victim of aggression, too

NEWS 31.05.202221:46 0 komentara
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"Croatia has swiftly, almost reflexively supported Ukraine and condemned Russia's aggression, as Croatia itself was a victim of the Great Serbian aggression in the 1990s, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in Rotterdam where he attended the European People's Party (EPP) meeting," state agency Hina reported.

Addressing a panel discussion on “unity in defending of Western democracy,” within the 27th congress of the EPP in the Netherlands, Plenkovic recalled that in the 1990s Croatia was exposed to the aggression launched by the Serbian regime led by Slobodan Milosevic.

Apart from Plenkovic, other speakers were Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Dutch foreign minister  Wopke Hoekstra and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, while the panel was moderated by EPP Secretary General Antonio López-Istúriz.

Croatian prime minister believes there is currently a disagreement between proponents of governing the world “cooperatively” on the one hand and “through conflict” on the other hand, and that no one can stand by at such a moment.

He pointed out that the West had provided incredible help to Ukraine and that there was international mobilization for Ukraine.

I say this as someone from a country that was also a victim of aggression. In the 1990s not only did we not see such a mobilization by the international community but we had to defend ourselves under the UN’s embargo on arms imports, said Plenkovic.

Efforts to support Ukraine needs to be continued and sustained, and EU member states should also strengthen their own resources, the Croatian premier said.

For example, our budget for the armed forces is larger than ever and we will continue to invest sustainably in our military capacities, said the Croatian PM.

The Greek prime minister said there was no alternative to the current policy towards Russian aggression against Ukraine.

We must explain there will be difficulties in the short term. But if we hadn’t opposed the bully and supported Ukraine, all the values we had fought for would have been endangered, he said.

We cannot tolerate a new kind of historical revisionism — fantasies about long-lost empires that are not in line with a rules-based international order, he added.

The European Parliament president praised the EU’s coordinated, efficient and swift response to Russian aggression, and the Dutch foreign minister said that Russia actively questioned the values that should be the cornerstone of the 21st century, which was why it was necessary to defend freedom and democracy.

The panel also discussed the possible enlargement of the European Union. In response to a question about Ukraine’s European path, Plenkovic said that as the youngest EU member Croatia would be the last to oppose the Union’s enlargement.

He also noted that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo didn’t have a candidate status, and pushed for the support to Bosnia’s EU membership aspirations.

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