On Wednesday at 15:30, the meeting of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee and the Croatian Parliamentary Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly began. NATO Acting Deputy Secretary General Boris Ruge will discuss details of the NSATU mission.

Second NATO commander attends committee meeting on NSATU mission; conference with Anusic underway

On Wednesday at 15:30, the meeting of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee and the Croatian Parliamentary Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly began. NATO Acting Deputy Secretary General Boris Ruge will discuss details of the NSATU mission.

Ruge, who is married to a woman from Sarajevo, is the son of the first German journalist in Yugoslavia, the grandson of a conspirator against Hitler and a diplomat with an exceptionally rich career. NATO’s support activities for Ukraine within the framework of NSATU have been a major topic in the Croatian media for weeks and a point of contention between the Croatian government and the president’s office.

Ruge: “I will not lecture anyone and I will answer all questions”

“I am delighted to be in Zagreb. I worked with Croatian colleagues back in 1991 and witnessed Croatia’s struggle for independence and democracy. As a young diplomat, these were dramatic and particularly important moments for me. Now, as a NATO and EU member, you contribute to security and stability in the Balkans and beyond. Of course, you also adhere to the two per cent GDP guideline for defence. Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland are committed to deterring aggression and I thank you for all you do and for your contributions in the Western Balkans.

This region is of strategic importance to NATO, but it is also a security issue. We see threats in Bosnia, a fragile peace in Kosovo and strained relations between Belgrade and Pristina. Russia has tried to undermine the democracies in this region. We are ready to react if necessary,” said Ruge.

He added that they had spoken about the war in Ukraine and Russian aggression, including attacks on civilians.

“NSATU is designed to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty”

“The memory of the destruction of Vukovar and other Croatian cities is still alive. That is why what we are doing for European and transatlantic security is so important. Recently, North Korean troops arrived in Ukraine, which further aggravates the situation. Croatia has supported Ukraine with 11 aid packages totalling more than 300 million euros. Three months ago, the allies agreed on a comprehensive aid package totalling 40 billion euros a year, a new command structure and NSATU as part of NATO’s support for Ukraine.

I will later address the Croatian Foreign Affairs Committee and speak to the Croatian delegation in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. I will not lecture anyone there, but will endeavour to provide useful information. NSATU is designed to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and the new command structure will not involve NATO as a party to the conflict. Our support for Ukraine is not a charitable endeavour; we are helping it to maintain its sovereignty to ensure its security now and in the future. I look forward to the discussions in Parliament,” emphasised Ruge.

SDP will boycott the meeting; Mozemo undecided on support

“The Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee is meeting to present the NSATU mission and Boris Ruge will be speaking on this topic. We have been trying to communicate this for a month and now we will do so with the NATO deputy commander who has come especially for this purpose. He will provide all the information that the public wants to know, starting with what NSATU is, who it represents and what its general purpose is,” Anusic said in a press conference.

The SDP has already announced that it will boycott the committee session, while media report that representatives of Mozemo and Most parties, as well as independent MP Marija Selak-Raspudic, a presidential candidate, will attend. However, none of them have stated that Ruge’s statement will influence their opinion.

Former Croatian president and expert on international criminal law, Ivo Josipovic, emphasised that the parliament is deciding on an unconstitutional matter, as the constitution does not authorise it to decide on non-combat-related missions with a two-thirds majority.

The decision is in the hands of the MPs

The invitation to the parliamentary session, which was organised after the unexpected postponement of the vote on this NATO activity last week, was not accepted by Chief of General Staff Tihomir Kundid, whom the Foreign Policy Committee had also invited on Friday.

A two-thirds majority, or the support of 101 MPs, is required to make the decision on sending Croatian soldiers to support training in Germany for Ukraine.

President Zoran Milanovic claims that this decision draws Croatia directly into the conflict with Russia, although Croatia has generously supported Ukraine in other ways since the beginning of Russian aggression.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic accuses Milanovic of being pro-Russian and the opposition of refusing to support NSATU out of “malice” as it is a government proposal.

Follow the meeting live on N1 television.