President Milanović Calls for Urgent Meeting with Prime Minister over Government Pressure on Chief of General Staff and Threat to Armed Forces Command System

The President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, sent a letter today to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenković, which reads:

“Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I hereby inform you that, as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, I have issued an Order that the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia shall not participate in the military parade in Paris on 14 July 2026. The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, Lieutenant General Tihomir Kundid, is responsible for the implementation of the aforementioned Order.

Given that the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia is being subjected to pressure from the Government of the Republic of Croatia, whereby he is requested to disregard and fail to execute the Orders of the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, I propose an urgent meeting to discuss these circumstances, which directly threaten the command system within the Croatian Armed Forces. Undermining the command system severely jeopardizes the stability of the entire defence system, which constitutes a serious problem and demands a clear return of all actors to the frameworks prescribed by the Constitution and the laws.“