The president of the NATO country says that Crimea will never join Ukraine
- The Croatian president said that Crimea, which was annexed by Russia, will never join Ukraine again, withdrawing from NATO.
- Zoran Milanović added that more weapons from the West will only “prolong the war”.
- The county prime minister did not agree with that, saying that these comments “harm Croatia’s foreign policy position”.
On Monday, Croatia’s president appeared to break with his NATO allies by publicly suggesting that Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, was lost to Ukraine forever.
It is clear that Crimea will never be part of Ukraine again, Zoran Milanović said. according to Reuters.
Russia’s annexation of the region is not internationally recognized, including by the EUthe OURor Chinaand Ukraine has pledged to reclaim the Black Sea peninsula as part of its current military effort.
The peninsula was occupied before the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
Milanović also criticized the flow of Western weapons going to Ukraine, according to The Associated Pressincluding the recent decision by Germany, the US and other allies to send advanced tanks.
“I am against sending any lethal weapons there,” he told reporters during a visit to a military barracks. – This prolongs the war.
He added: “What is the goal? The disintegration of Russia, a change of government? There is also talk of dismembering Russia. This is madness.”
Milanovic’s view that sending arms to Ukraine will prolong the war runs counter to the view of many Western officials who say that giving Ukraine the weapons it needs is the best way to end the conflict as quickly as possible.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson he said in December that giving Ukraine better weapons would help end the war. “Ukrainians have the courage needed to succeed. They have shown it. They just need the equipment,” he said.
In recent months, Ukraine has pushed Russian forces back east, thwarting their efforts to conquer huge swaths of the country.
Experts told Insider’s John Haltiwanger this month that the battle for Crimea could be the next big stage of the war.
The Croatian president has repeatedly criticized Western aid to Ukraine, Reuters noted.
In October, Milanović said that Croatia will not train Ukrainian troops as “I don’t want Croatia to be dragged into this war more than necessary”.
But the prime minister of that country, Andrej Plenković, who has more political power, took a more pro-Ukrainian stance.
On Monday, he said that Milanović’s comments “directly harm Croatia’s foreign policy position”, reports AP.
Plenković also said last June that he supported the steps of Ukraine for entering the EU, i accused Russia September on “violation of international law”.
Earlier this month Plenković said that “it is crucial that we support Ukraine in the return of their territories, in the preservation of sovereignty, in the preservation of the constitutional order.”