"Defence Minister Mario Banozic said on Tuesday that the way President Zoran Milanovic was treating the Croatian defence system and armed forces was inappropriate and unprofessional considering the office he holds," state news agency Hina said.

“The President must be aware that the Croatian Armed Forces are not his toy,” Banozic said in a statement after earlier today Milanovic again commented on the early retirement of the Honorary Guard Battalion Commander, Colonel Elvis Burcul, saying that “a cabinet minister cannot force someone into retirement just because he does not like them.”

Banozic strongly denied that Colonel Burcul had been forced into retirement, citing a law under which Burcul’s appointment had expired, his active military service had ended and he was entitled to an old age pension.

Commenting on Milanovic’s statement that he would resolve this matter by using his powers as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Banozic said that everyone was required to respect the law, including the President of the Republic, adding that the Defence Act clearly sets out the organisational and command structure of the Armed Forces and the defence-related powers of the state authorities.

“Under the Constitution, the President of the Republic is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and no one is calling this into question,” the defence minister said, stressing that the President’s powers are clearly and unequivocally defined by the 2013 Defence Act, which was proposed by the Milanovic government and enacted by Parliament and which is still in force.

The President of the Republic must exercise his powers as Commander in Chief in accordance with the Defence Act, Banozic said.