President Milanović: We must cooperate and talk directly because the Government technically implements foreign policy, but it is formulated by the Government and the President
“Foreign policy is technically implemented by the Government, but it is formulated by the Government and the President. Anyone who does not adhere to this is not on the right track. To be precise – how will the Croatian representative vote in the UN? If the Prime Minister and I disagree on something, and Croatia has to make a decision – as, for example, on a UN General Assembly resolution – in that case the Croatian representative abstains. That’s the only way it can work. The Government pulls all the strings of foreign policy regarding EU membership and it will remain that way. But there must be some balance. This is a good start, but it is not enough. We need to agree on some things for the future,” the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović said when commenting on Tuesday that the Prime Minister did not consult him before adopting the Republic of Croatia’s position on the resolution on the war in Ukraine.
“We must co-operate, we must discuss certain issues directly. We don’t have to always. We don’t have to love each other, nor do we; this is serious business in which we must keep in mind to save our heads, be careful what we do, keep in mind that we are a European country first and foremost, but also that America was our protector until yesterday. What has changed in this matter? And all of this should be weighed wisely, not follow the loudest voices in Europe because our positions do not have to be identical to the positions of the Baltic states or Scandinavian countries. We should be solidary and loyal, not do things behind anyone’s back, but to automatic raise our hand for something that was conceived by some department in the European Union is out of the question”, President Milanović added.
President Milanović says that there is nevertheless some progress in his communication with the Government: “We still made a little progress. First, the tone of the Government’s reply to my announcement. They replied, not entirely, but it was written quite courteously. This very implicitly includes an admission that they have been obstructing until now, that is, they did not want anything. This, what someone has imagined is nice, it is a good intention, but it is not enough”.
In this context, he further commented on the Government’s claim that there was communication between advisors in the Government and the Office of the President about the resolution. “These are issues of a political nature and they cannot be consulted on – at least not at the beginning – by people I respect, but who are technical staff. That’s the gist of the matter. Here, a position must be taken on certain issues, I won’t say it’s a matter of life and death, but certainly of war and peace, and how Croatia will position itself. How will we communicate in the future, because so far we have not done so as the system had been held captive, had been usurped. I am here, I will not refer to the election results as Mr. Plenković has done a thousand times, that’s behind us. I think that an intelligent person could understand what the intentions and wishes of the citizens are,” President Milanović explained, and reminded that he has not yet received any documents from the Government for the Defence Council meeting, even though more than one month has passed since his proposal to convene the Defence Council.
As for yesterday’s resolution in the UN and Croatia’s position, President Milanović noted: “Now it no longer matters how Croatia voted. Nothing commits us categorically. These are serious issues, a matter of war and peace. Ursula von der Leyen, Kaja Kallas and other top-ranked officials cannot speak on behalf of Croatia, officials indeed because they weren’t elected by the citizens. They can say whatever they want, we won’t work actively against them, but that doesn’t obligate me. Foreign policy and national security – these are the most intimate areas of every nation. First we will agree, and then we will see what happens”, the President said.
“Yesterday, for the first time in three years, the issue of Ukraine ended up in the Security Council, where it couldn’t be on the agenda for three years since Russia blocked everything with a veto. Yesterday was the day when the USA, Russia and China voted identically. The European Union and Great Britain abstained. It was a show between the Americans, Russians and Chinese so that no one would ruin anything for anyone, but that the American resolution on Ukraine would pass. That resolution is somewhat cynical, it starts from the fact that nothing had ever happened, but its intention is peace. Washington, Moscow and Beijing voted for it,” President Milanović commented on the outcome of the vote in the UN.
President Milanović sees the outcome of the vote in the UN as a possible beginning of the establishment of peace in the world. “You have three major powers that think the same on one issue, and the European Union thinks differently. That the strongest think the same should not be a bad start in the interest of world peace. Even if they could agree on the reduction of nuclear weapons, the control of nuclear weapons, a return to all those mechanisms which the USA has left in the last twenty years, if they could return to that sustainable balance of fear that kept the world at peace during the Cold War – that would not be bad. If this is the beginning of that path, I’m all for it. If this is the beginning of some kind of domination over the world and the division of interest zones in which everyone will do what comes to mind, some in the east, others in the west – I’m not in favour of that. But let’s give them some time”, President Milanović concluded.