\u201cIn these circumstances there is not cooperation with Israel as far as the Croatian Army is concerned. I am one of those who, during my entire political career, I had enough understanding and tolerance for Israeli actions, but not in the last two-three years. That is a brutal policy; that is an army responsible for the worst war crimes in form, content and targeting those that are much weaker than them. What the Israeli army, politics and establishment have done in Gaza is horrific, unprecedented disregard for humanitarian law and humanity. And the Croatian Army will not cooperate with such an army\u201d, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 commented today on the Defense minister\u2019s visit to Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Milanovi\u0107 explained that the Defense minister and his boss, the Prime Minister, can travel wherever they want, but when it is about procurement of arms and military equipment for the Croatian Armed Forces, he pointed out that \u201call we need and what we purchase exists somewhere else\u201c.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He went on to say that \u201cIsrael is not a reliable partner\u201d, and reminded that \u201cthey tried to force American planes on us, until the Americans said that they are trying to force goods on us that aren\u2019t even in circulation, that they don\u2019t have a licence for them\u201d. \u201cThis is not friendly or even partner-like behaviour, it is an attempt at fraud. No lesson has been learned from this. Some of our politicians, especially those of the right wing have a fetish for this kind of Israel. I don\u2019t\u201d, President Milanovi\u0107 noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President called for us, when purchasing weapons and equipment, \u201cto turn to those who can provide us with these same goods, with possible systems and with the possible participation of our industry, and these are NATO members”, such as Germany, France and first of all the USA\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, President Milanovi\u0107 warned that Israel cooperates militarily with Serbia too. \u201cPurchases should be made wisely, be careful whom you buy from, be careful about your next steps and what will happen in the future. Serbia is purchasing arms in huge quantities, and who is integrating them into these systems? Israel, the Israeli defense industry, the Israeli security services! Do we want Israel to be the master of the most sensitive national security information of Serbia and Croatia alike? \u201cThis is what is happening now\u201d, the President of the Republic stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat can we buy from Israel now that we can\u2019t buy from the Germans of the French? I have warned that the Croatian Army will not participate in this, and who buys this system is doing it at their own risk. Without the participation of the army and without a tactical and technical study, they shouldn\u2019t buy anything, and a tactical and technical study will not include Israeli arms, as it doesn\u2019t include Russian and Chinese because that\u2019s the policy\u201d, President Milanovi\u0107 concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The journalists asked President Milanovi\u0107 to comment on speculations that he will be running in the next parliamentary elections with an independent list. \u201cAsk those who speculate. I talked about this a few months ago, very precisely on my own initiative. See what I said\u201d, President Milanovi\u0107 replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President commented on his official visit to Georgia. \u201cGeorgia is a state in the Caucasus, proud of being the cradle of Europe. The current government in Georgia is not flawless, but it is a beacon of democracy not just in relation to Israel, but in relation to multiple states where one travels\u201c, President Milanovi\u0107 noted, and reminded that Croatian officials travel to states in which women have no rights or in which there are no free elections. Moreover, he reminded that a delegation of the Georgian Parliament visited the Croatian Parliament late last year, and no one raised issues with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome of the largest Croatian companies went to Georgia with me, serious ones with a concrete interest. This is my responsibility\u201d, President Milanovi\u0107 added, stressing that he won\u2019t participate in politics of some European Union states that were persuading Georgia to enter a conflict with Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn a somewhat manipulative way, they wanted Georgia to complicate relations with Russia. Several EU states, in a diabolic way, tried to persuade this small and unfortunate state, de facto occupied to a certain extent by Russia, to enter a conflict with it. And then to just have them fend for themselves. That\u2019s what they wanted from Georgia\u201d, the President stated, adding that he supports the people of Georgia to think for themselves, \u201cbecause the Brussels prospect doesn\u2019t work and they will be betrayed at the first chance\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At a journalist\u2019s remarks that the elections in Georgia were assessed to be undemocratic by the OSCE, President Milanovi\u0107 said: \u201cIt was clear that the elections must be won by someone insignificant and someone who will do what Brussels tells them. If Georgia had unfair elections, I leave it up to them to resolve it themselves. Georgia is a state with its issues and nobody will come to protect them, aircraft carriers will not depart, they will turn their heads away. That is immoral and wrong in the whole story\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cIn these circumstances there is not cooperation with Israel as far as the Croatian Army is concerned. I am one of those who, during my entire political career, I had enough understanding and tolerance for Israeli actions, but not in the last two-three years. That is a brutal policy; that is an army responsible for the worst war crimes in form, content and targeting those that are much weaker than them. What the Israeli army, politics and establishment have done in Gaza is horrific, unprecedented disregard for humanitarian law and humanity. And the Croatian Army will not cooperate with such an army\u201d, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 commented today on the Defense minister\u2019s visit to Israel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":42167,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-42168","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n