{"id":43996,"date":"2026-07-08T19:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/?post_type=news&p=43996"},"modified":"2026-07-09T11:15:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T09:15:30","slug":"president-milanovic-after-nato-summit-serbia-is-behaving-strangely-i-had-to-speak-about-it-because-nato-needs-to-know","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-after-nato-summit-serbia-is-behaving-strangely-i-had-to-speak-about-it-because-nato-needs-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"President Milanovi\u0107 after NATO Summit: Serbia is behaving strangely; I had to speak about it because NATO needs to know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cCroatia\u2019s position is to be loyal and fair to its NATO allies, not to do anything behind their backs, which we are not doing, while keeping a close eye on developments and safeguarding our own interests. That means we are not part of the Coalition of the Willing, and I repeated that to everyone here. Croatia has paid other people\u2019s bills far too often throughout history, and at times has made poor calculations for itself as well. I hope we have now entered a period in which we will make the most of our greatest asset, which is our position. Croatia\u2019s position is a good one, and we should not be where we do not need to be,\u201d the President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 said today after the NATO Summit in Ankara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to the media after the meeting, President Milanovi\u0107 said that, in this setting, President Donald Trump had been the most candid, saying that he \u201ccomes here as a fully determined arms dealer and, in that sense, represents American interests.\u201d \u201cHe speaks about Putin and Xi with full respect, just as they speak about him. Other leaders use different rhetoric,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that the Coalition of the Willing had been mentioned by President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, \u201cthe people who came up with it, but without any form or clarity.\u201d \u201cThat is why we cannot be part of it. The idea of a Western presence in Ukraine following some future peace agreement is very dangerous, poorly developed and uncertain,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Milanovi\u0107 also confirmed to reporters that he had addressed the situation in Croatia\u2019s neighbourhood during the meeting of NATO leaders. \u201cI also mentioned Serbia\u2019s recent military build-up and its purchases of various [weapons] systems. Serbia is behaving strangely. I hope it will not acquire an aircraft carrier on wheels, since it has no sea. The question that must always be asked is: what do you need all this for? Why are you acquiring it? What is your threat assessment and how do you intend to use it?\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 said, stressing that Croatia, as a state, would have to respond \u201cby equipping ourselves with something similar.\u201d \u201cNATO needs to know this and it needs to be discussed. It is my duty to speak about it,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUkraine has an army, and that is what saved it. It is brave and capable. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of young and not-so-young men who are fighting, many of whom were mobilised against their will, but that is how states used to function. None of the countries we know today function that way. No NATO member has a significant number of troops; they simply cannot, because those numbers do not exist. Russia, for the time being, does, and it has managed to assemble them without mobilisation, and that is the danger. They have one million people on the payroll. At some point, that will have to stop; a line will have to be drawn. I hope Ukraine can endure it,\u201d the Croatian President said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Milanovi\u0107 went on to say that diplomacy had received little attention during the meeting. \u201cWe have to bear in mind that Russia has an enormous and very powerful nuclear arsenal, but I do not believe it would dare attack European territory,\u201d he said. Commenting on tensions between Donald Trump and NATO allies, he added that he hoped NATO would endure, \u201cbut without the United States it makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the first time, I heard that whether it is five percent or two percent means nothing. The only thing that matters is the capabilities that money can buy, because prices are rising dramatically. Minister Anu\u0161i\u0107 boasted that we are buying an aircraft. I insisted that this should be one of our priorities because we currently have nothing. They will provide the funding, but is that the best approach? I hope the General Staff is involved in this and that it is not somebody\u2019s personal project. We should lease an Airbus, which the French could make available to us when we need it. We will also see how the upcoming engine maintenance cycle for the Rafales goes and whether our strategic partners will be able to meet our needs. That is very important,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 said. He added that he supports the plan to procure a military transport aircraft for the Croatian Armed Forces because \u201cthese are the kinds of capabilities that must be considered over the medium term.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Milanovi\u0107 reiterated that Croatia\u2019s geopolitical position is favourable and \u201cbetter than Estonia\u2019s or Lithuania\u2019s.\u201d \u201cMy task as President is to derive the greatest possible benefit from that for our people, not to push myself forward and repeat like a parrot ten sentences that will appeal to Ursula von der Leyen. Politics also involves thinking and weighing difficult choices, including this unfortunate military parade, which is nothing more than a parade for one man who is leaving office. What would people in Croatia have said if I had approved it?\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 said. He also revealed that he had not spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron because, \u201ceverything is clear: respect, but respect me too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked by reporters about the possibility of running in the parliamentary elections, President Milanovi\u0107 said: \u201cThat is impossible. The elections will be held no later than two years from now, well within my term of office. I will still have a year and a half left in my mandate. In 2024, the situation was very different because I was nearing the end of my term and intended to do something that was entirely lawful and constitutional. However, the organised criminal brotherhood prevented it \u2013 the so-called constitutional judges. I have no intention of repeating that. After that, I ran for President again. I asked the Croatian people to renew my mandate, and they did so quite convincingly. I therefore have no right to step down, regardless of what I think of Plenkovi\u0107 and his brilliant government. That is my patriotic and professional duty. I must serve out my mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was here today. Nowhere does the Constitution explicitly state that Croatia must be represented at NATO meetings by the President, whereas it explicitly states that, in the European Council, the state is represented by the Government and the President of the Republic. I can certainly imagine the Prime Minister sitting here at this meeting. I came here to a well-prepared setting: you speak for three minutes, once a year, three minutes. Those are the rules we play by. This is all a form of political theatre, which is also part of international relations,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the eve of the NATO Summit, President Milanovi\u0107 met with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev to discuss the bilateral partnership in the fields of security and defence. During the meeting, they exchanged views on the security risks arising from the military operations in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as the socio-economic consequences affecting European countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The previous evening, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 attended a ceremonial dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan for the heads of state and government of NATO member countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PHOTO: Anadolu Agency, Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, NATO, Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia \/ Tomislav Bu\u0161ljeta<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cCroatia\u2019s position is to be loyal and fair to its NATO allies, not to do anything behind their backs, which we are not doing, while keeping a close eye on developments and safeguarding our own interests. That means we are not part of the Coalition of the Willing, and I repeated that to everyone here. Croatia has paid other people\u2019s bills far too often throughout history, and at times has made poor calculations for itself as well. I hope we have now entered a period in which we will make the most of our greatest asset, which is our position. Croatia\u2019s position is a good one, and we should not be where we do not need to be,\u201d the President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 said today after the NATO Summit in Ankara.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":43995,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-43996","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPresident Milanovi\u0107 after NATO Summit: Serbia is behaving strangely; I had to speak about it because NATO needs to know - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-after-nato-summit-serbia-is-behaving-strangely-i-had-to-speak-about-it-because-nato-needs-to-know\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President Milanovi\u0107 after NATO Summit: Serbia is behaving strangely; I had to speak about it because NATO needs to know - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cCroatia\u2019s position is to be loyal and fair to its NATO allies, not to do anything behind their backs, which we are not doing, while keeping a close eye on developments and safeguarding our own interests. That means we are not part of the Coalition of the Willing, and I repeated that to everyone here. Croatia has paid other people\u2019s bills far too often throughout history, and at times has made poor calculations for itself as well. I hope we have now entered a period in which we will make the most of our greatest asset, which is our position. 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