Despite opposition from President Zoran Milanovic, Croatia should participate in the mission of training Ukrainian soldiers, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman said in Brussels on Monday, expressing hope that a"politically responsible majority" would be found for this.

The European Union made a decision in principle to establish a mission to train Ukrainian soldiers in the EU territory and that decision has yet to be worked out, he said.

After EU foreign ministers supported this at a meeting in Luxembourg last month and Minister Grlic-Radman announced that Croatia would also participate in the mission, President Zoran Milanovic said he was against it.

Grlic-Radman pointed out that the procedure in Croatia was such that the decision is made by the president and the Croatian parliament. If the president does not agree, then a two-thirds majority in parliament is needed to pass the decision.

In response to a reporter’s comment that then it was not very likely that Croatia would be able to participate given the president’s opposition and the fact that the government does not have a two-thirds majority, Grlic-Radman said he hoped for politically responsible behavior.

EU defence ministers will discuss the mission on Tuesday.

Foreign ministers also discussed the situation in the Western Balkans, the tension between Serbia and Kosovo, the situation in Montenegro and about Bosnia and Herzegovina, which the European Commission in October recommended be granted the status of a candidate for EU membership.

Grlic-Radman said all ministers had stressed the need for all candidate countries to harmonize their foreign policies with the EU and impose sanctions against Russia. Serbia is the only Western Balkan country that refuses to do so.

As for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Grlic-Radman said that the discussion underscored the need to establish government at all levels as soon as possible in order for the country to become functional.

If part of the requested reforms are carried out, there is a chance the country could be granted candidate status by the end of the year.