Senator has met with President and Prime Minister.
US Senator John McCain arrived in Croatia on Sunday. The visit began with a meeting with President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in Opatija, which represented a continuation of their regular dialogue after a recent meeting on the sidelines of the Munich security conference, reports Jutarnji List on April 9, 2017.
President and Senator exchanged views on the situation in Southeast Europe, emphasizing the importance of a credible and individual Euro-Atlantic perspective for all countries of the region and ensuring lasting stability and prosperity. In this regard, they agreed on the importance of the US administration's focus on this area of the world, said the Office of the President in a statement.
President Grabar-Kitarović and Senator McCain also agreed on condemning the recent use of chemical weapons in Syria, and on the necessity of an active approach of the international community to deter further cases like that.
The visit comes a few days before the celebration of a quarter century of American recognition of Croatian independence. “The United States supported the Republic of Croatia during the accession to membership in NATO and the European Union. The Republic of Croatia highly appreciates the transatlantic partnership with the United States,” said the President’s Office.
Later, McCain went to Dubrovnik to meet with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Davor Ivo Stier and US Ambassador to Croatia Julieta Valls Noyes.
It is important that Croatia and the United States exchange their opinions as allies within NATO, and for Croatia to be informed about the policies of the new US administration, said Plenković after the meeting. “I would say that the relations between Croatia and the United States are at the highest level,” said McCain, adding that due to the situation in the world the relations between the two countries were more important than ever before. “I think the relations will be stable and that the new administration will remain in the framework of solid partnership. This has been indicated by discussions that many Croatian officials have had in recent months with representatives of the new US administration,” added Plenković.
