President Zoran Milanovic said on Thursday that the leaders of European politics are not thinking about the consequences. He was commenting on reports that Europe is considering sending peacekeepers to Ukraine.

Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing diplomatic sources, that Europe is considering the possibility of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. The idea is still in its early stages and some diplomats suggest that its implementation could require between 40,000 and 100,000 troops, which Milanovic described as “insane”.

“With this manipulation, we are harming the Croatian army”

“The generation at the top of European politics is made up of people of low calibre. These people do not think about the consequences. And who could even come up with the idea of sending 100,000 European soldiers to Ukraine? Where to? When? Under what obligation?” he said , adding that “this “will never happen as far as Croatia is concerned” and that “Croatian citizens can rest assured.”

“We will stay here and help NATO members; Ukraine is not one of them,” Milanovic said, adding that “with this manipulation, we are harming the Croatian army, which should be in Poland, Lithuania and Kosovo. Because this has been turned into a package, and (Croatian Prime Minister Andrej) Plenkovic will not allow anything in parliament through his henchmen until he has corrupted enough people to steal some kind of two-thirds majority, which is impossible.”

“There are currently several decisions in the process concerning the participation of our soldiers in missions that we all approve of: this is Kosovo, this is Poland and Lithuania, they are NATO allies, Kosovo is a different story. We are talking about hundreds of Croatian soldiers who are waiting for a decision in parliament, because without parliament it is not possible. He (Plenkovic) will not allow it,” said Milanovic.

“This is not Croatian policy and Croatia will not behave like this”

Plenkovic had said on Wednesday that Milanovic was politicising the issue of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine in his re-election campaign, a decision that has not yet been made: “This is obviously an election issue for him, because Croatian soldiers are not needed in Ukraine, neither as part of the EUMAM (EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine) nor as part of the NSATU (NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine).”

With regard to NSATU, Milanovic said that 26 countries have signed up, “but at the moment almost no one is contributing. This is not working at all. Let Plenkovic tell you that. Because people are looking and doing the maths.”

He also said that former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and incumbent Mark Rutte “are very elastic and go far beyond what the Secretary General should do.”

“The Secretary General is not a political leader. But every day these people, including this Secretary General, make statements that I have to distance myself from on numerous occasions because this is not Croatian policy and Croatia will not behave like this,” Milanovic said, adding that this is “a problem that NATO has been involved in for years” and that “as far as the mission in Ukraine is concerned, the situation is now escalating.”