The security situation in southeast Europe is not satisfactory, Croatian Defence Minister Ivan Anusic said on Thursday after he received his Albanian counterpart Niko Peleshi in Zagreb.

“We have discussed all the current issues and situations. Definitely, one of the current topics is the security situation in the southeast of Europe. The situation is not at all satisfactory security-wise, and all that requires a certain response and today we signed a memorandum of understanding,” Anusic said after the talks.

Croatia and Albania are traditionally friendly countries and allies that have harmonised their positions on foreign affairs topics, including the developments in Ukraine and southeast Europe, said the Croatian minister.

In 2009, Albania and Croatia joined NATO together.

“We have agreed on our future cooperation that will be based on stronger and more concrete collaboration between the two defence ministries,” he added.

Peleshi said that Croatia has always supported Albania and that the two countries share the same goals and interests, including the interest in seeing the neighborhood as a safe area.

Therefore we support each other, the Albanian minister added.

Peleshi went on to say that both countries were facing geopolitical challenges, which is why NATO membership and bilateral defence cooperation are important.

We need to be ready to ensure peace and security in this region (southeast Europe). Therefore we underscore the further bilateral defence cooperation and we are going to boost it through many activities such as joint military exercises and training, he said.