President Zoran Milanovic has declared that Croatian soldiers will not take part in activities that drive Croatia into war during his term of office.

The government had previously accused him on Wednesday of preventing Croatian officers from taking part in NATO training for Ukrainian soldiers. The president had “lied” that the aim of the mission was to send them to Ukraine.

“As long as I am president and commander-in-chief, Croatian soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers will simply not participate in activities that push Croatia into war,” Milanovic wrote on Facebook.

“I am accountable only to the Croatian people, not to Washington or Brussels”

He added that the NATO mission is a direct support of a warring party that is not a member of NATO, which is not in Croatia’s national interest, whether it is one or a hundred soldiers, wherever they are.

Milanovic said that Croatia’s commitment to its NATO allies was demonstrated by the fact that he had given his consent to increase the participation of Croatian soldiers in the Alliance’s neighbouring countries by almost 80%, from 300 to 520 members.

“Croatia has a duty to help only its allies, and we do that every day. Anything else is involvement in a war, which I have not allowed and will not allow. I am accountable only to the Croatian people, not to Washington or Brussels – and that is how it will remain,” emphasised Milanovic.

Government: Croatia is not in danger of being drawn into the war

However, the government maintains that the role of Croatian officers is primarily to provide logistical support and coordinate donations of equipment and money to Ukraine and emphasises that there are no plans to send Croatian soldiers to that country.

According to the defence ministry’s proposal, up to five Croatian officers would be deployed to the headquarters of NATO’s Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) mission in Wiesbaden, Germany, from 2024 to 2026.

“Zoran Milanovic has been intimidating the public for years that the aim of participating in the NATO mission is to ‘send Croatian soldiers to Ukraine’ or ‘drag Croatia into the conflict with Russia’,” the government said.

“Croatia is not in danger of being dragged into the war, and it is Milanovic who is unnecessarily exposing Croatia with such actions, further isolating it on the international stage and undermining its credibility as a NATO ally,” it added.