NATO isn't a threat to anyone, it's a defence alliance of states that live and promote freedom, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Monday during a visit to the American aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which has been docked in the port of Split since last Friday.

US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is a symbol of the US commitment to NATO and the defence of our common values — freedom and democracy, said the Croatian prime minister.

The Croatian premier said that the presence of the aircraft carrier Truman was also a symbol or our time, in which we must speak with a unanimous, strong, transatlantic voice — and say clearly that we are united in the defence of freedoms and democracies of our countries, as well as in securing peace and stability in Europe and the transatlantic area.

Plenkovic underscored that NATO wasn’t a threat to anyone.

NATO is a defence alliance of states that live and promote freedom. By strengthening unity in NATO, we promote peace just like we did together in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq and the Mediterranean, and just like we still do in Kosovo and on the Baltic coasts, the prime minister said.

Three days ago the USS Truman docked in Split, which has been a friendship city of Los Angeles for 28 years.

In recent weeks, the crew of the aircraft carrier have participated together with the Croatian colleagues in the NATO-led maritime exercise Neptune Strike in the Adriatic Sea.

Plenković wished the crew calm seas, and Captain Gavin Duff thanked Croatia for its warm welcome and said that the crew had enjoyed the cuisine and culture of Split.

We look forward to continuing our warm relations with Croatian and in the maritime domain we will expand our capabilities, capacities and interoperability with a key ally in NATO, said Rear Admiral Curt Renshaw, the commander of a carrier strike group.