NATO Member State's President Blocks Troops from Ukraine Mission
President Zoran Milanovic has announced that Croatia will not deploy soldiers to the NATO mission supporting Kiev, despite objections from the cabinet. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic has stated that Croatia will not engage in sending troops to the NATO command aimed at providing military assistance to Kiev, as he believes this would lead the country into direct conflict with Russia.
Since joining the US-led NATO alliance in 2009, the former Yugoslav republic has sent weapons and helicopters to Ukraine despite the president's opposition, who is aligned with the Social Democratic Party.
”While I am president and the commander in chief, Croatian soldiers, officers and NCOs will not take part in activities that would draw Croatia into a war,” Milanovic declared on Thursday.
He has declined to send any military personnel to the newly formed NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine command, intended for coordinating military support to Ukraine. Croatia was expected to provide a small number of officers to the 700-member NSATU team based in Wiesbaden, Germany.
In response, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic accused Milanovic of “further isolating Croatia on the international scene and destroying its credibility as a NATO member.”
NATO has reminded Milanovic that the establishment of the command was part of an agreement made during the July summit in Washington, emphasizing that it does not involve deploying troops to Ukraine. The alliance argues that its significant investment in arming, training, and supplying Ukraine doesn’t equate to becoming a participant in the conflict with Russia.
Milanovic responded, stating, “Whether it’s one soldier or a hundred, wherever they are, this would be a direct command support to a warring party that is not a NATO member, which is out of bounds for Croatian national interests.” He added that “Croatia has an obligation to help allies, which is what we’ve been doing. Everything else is getting involved in a war, which I will not allow.”
Furthermore, he defended Croatia's commitment by noting an increase in the number of Croatian troops in the NATO border force, which has grown from 300 to 520.
“I answer solely to the people of Croatia, not Washington and Brussels,” Milanovic asserted.
Under Croatian law, the president has the authority to prevent troop deployments abroad. While the cabinet could potentially override this decision with a two-thirds majority in parliament, the ruling coalition currently holds only 78 out of 151 seats.
Milanovic has consistently criticized NATO's approach of supplying arms to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia and has also voiced discontent regarding the EU’s treatment of member states like Poland and Hungary. He has gone so far as to accuse Brussels of treating Croatia as a “retarded” child.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
Since joining the US-led NATO alliance in 2009, the former Yugoslav republic has sent weapons and helicopters to Ukraine despite the president's opposition, who is aligned with the Social Democratic Party.
”While I am president and the commander in chief, Croatian soldiers, officers and NCOs will not take part in activities that would draw Croatia into a war,” Milanovic declared on Thursday.
He has declined to send any military personnel to the newly formed NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine command, intended for coordinating military support to Ukraine. Croatia was expected to provide a small number of officers to the 700-member NSATU team based in Wiesbaden, Germany.
In response, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic accused Milanovic of “further isolating Croatia on the international scene and destroying its credibility as a NATO member.”
NATO has reminded Milanovic that the establishment of the command was part of an agreement made during the July summit in Washington, emphasizing that it does not involve deploying troops to Ukraine. The alliance argues that its significant investment in arming, training, and supplying Ukraine doesn’t equate to becoming a participant in the conflict with Russia.
Milanovic responded, stating, “Whether it’s one soldier or a hundred, wherever they are, this would be a direct command support to a warring party that is not a NATO member, which is out of bounds for Croatian national interests.” He added that “Croatia has an obligation to help allies, which is what we’ve been doing. Everything else is getting involved in a war, which I will not allow.”
Furthermore, he defended Croatia's commitment by noting an increase in the number of Croatian troops in the NATO border force, which has grown from 300 to 520.
“I answer solely to the people of Croatia, not Washington and Brussels,” Milanovic asserted.
Under Croatian law, the president has the authority to prevent troop deployments abroad. While the cabinet could potentially override this decision with a two-thirds majority in parliament, the ruling coalition currently holds only 78 out of 151 seats.
Milanovic has consistently criticized NATO's approach of supplying arms to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia and has also voiced discontent regarding the EU’s treatment of member states like Poland and Hungary. He has gone so far as to accuse Brussels of treating Croatia as a “retarded” child.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
