President Milanović: Plenković seeks participation of Croatian soldiers in NATO operation whose members, as he himself confirmed, “will certainly be in Ukraine”
Andrej Plenković confirmed today that members of the NSATU operation will indeed also be on the territory of Ukraine. I quote: ‘If NATO’s activity is a support activity – to what? Arming and training. Whom? Ukraine and the Ukrainian army. Therefore in this NSATU activity there will be a few liaison officers that will certainly be in Ukraine, 100 percent will be in Ukraine’. ‘They will indeed be in Ukraine’, to repeat the words of that dishonourable person who until yesterday lied to the Croatian people that members of the NSATU operation will exclusively be on the territory of NATO member states, and no way in Ukraine.
This is the NATO operation for which, as Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, I did not give my prior consent, a mission in which Andrej Plenković wants to send members of the Croatian Armed Forces. I did not give my prior consent to Croatia’s participation in the NSATU operation because I will not allow Croatian troops to participate in a mission whose members, as Plenković confirmed, ‘will definitely be in Ukraine.’ And that is what Plenković wanted to conceal from Croatia until now.
I will remind of the focus areas of the NSATU operation, which are not – as Plenković wishes to present – mail delivery. The main task of NATO troops in the operation will be development of the armed forces, coordination of equipment, coordination of training and logistics equipment for the Ukrainian army. If it’s not clear to Plenković, those are all activities of military support to a country at war.
Besides lying, Plenković is now also manipulating with information from a classified document: he is deceiving the Croatian people when saying that ‘a few liaison officers’ will go to Ukraine. Everyone, me included, who had insight into that document – which, and it should be known, was drafted by the Defence Ministry – knows that it is not about ‘a few liaison officers’ or about mail carriers, as cynically says Plenković. I guess it’s clear now why he wanted at all cost to prevent MPs in the Defence Committee to access that document: so that he can further manipulate with the facts and deceive the Croatian people.
He is willing to manipulate to the extent as to convince people that the deployment of NATO mission members to a country at war is something ‘notorious,’ which for him is evidently usual. This is the first time since the beginning of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine that NATO members are organizing and coordinating their departure to the territory of a state at war that is not a member of the Alliance. This is a precedent. And what Plenković is doing is notorious, he wants to drag Croatia into the war.
In order to hide the truth, Plenković first sent his Defence Minister to lie in the Croatian Parliament so Anušić – who also had the same information – looked the MPs straight in the eyes, deceiving them. This was not enough, so he had the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces come to his office and made him sign a false statement as proof of his lies. He embarrassed the Chief of the GS of the CAF who, evidently under pressure yesterday, signed the following statement: ‘Territorially, the implementation of the OPLAN is exclusively on the territory of NATO member states.’ And already today, Plenković refuted him, claiming that NATO officers ‘will certainly be in Ukraine.’
Plenković harnessed all available henchmen in the Croatian Parliament to defend his indefensible deceptions. And now – hiding in the bushes, from a separate command post far from the Croatian Parliament – he cowardly betrayed them and left them to explain what his admission that the NSATO members ‘will certainly be in Ukraine’ really means.
I withheld my prior consent for Croatia’s participation in NSATU guided solely by Croatian interests and concern for Croatian soldiers. As Commander in chief of the Croatian Armed Forces I had information at my disposal that reinforced my position, but I did not bring into question the right of other NATO member states to voluntarily participate in the NSATU operation. Thus I responsibly positioned Croatia as a reliable member, but first and foremost as an equal member that considers its interests. Unlike Plenković, who has, for who knows how many times, pushed Croatia in favour of foreign interests as a submissive state.
And I reiterate in order to clarify to everyone: I gave my prior consent for 12 NATO, EU and UN operations that are peace missions, but not for the 13th one, NSATU, because Croatia unconditionally retains the right to its stance on participating in missions to assist states at war that are not members of the Alliance.