ZAGREB, January 3, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday he expected final and clear responses from Israel and the United States on the delivery of multipurpose F-16 fighter jets, after which the government would decide on the fate of this tender.
"We expect final and clear responses from Israel and the US, after which we will decide accordingly. The government firmly stands by its decision that we can only conclude the offer as was accepted and proposed by the Defence Ministry team of experts. Everything else will require our decision to cancel this process, and after that we will decide on further steps," Plenković said at the start of a cabinet meeting.
He recalled that there were differences between Israel and the US regarding approval for the transfer of technologies to a third party, in this case Croatia. "Contrary to the information that we have had during this entire process over the last almost two years, certain problems have now arisen where the US has reservations about the transfer of technology which is originally American but has been upgraded with Israeli technology," Plenković said.
"In any case, we are not glad that this happened, but now we are trying to identify the causes of this problem, and after that we will make appropriate decisions," he concluded.
The Defence Ministry on Thursday asked Israel to officially notify it by January 11 if it could deliver the F-16 fighter jets Croatia chose transparently in an international tender, saying that if Israel could not, Croatia would cancel its decision on the choice of multipurpose fighter jets.
The ministry reiterated in a press release that Israel had the obligation to obtain the US administration's approval for the delivery of the jets to Croatia in the appropriate configuration. "When the State of Israel officially notifies us regarding the matter, we will inform the Croatian public in a timely fashion."
If Croatia cannot buy the aircraft it chose because of disagreements that have come up between Israel and the US, the Croatian government will cancel the decision of 29 March 2018 on the choice of multipurpose F-16 fighter jets.
Croatia ran this very complex project systematically, professionally and transparently, guided only by national interests, the ministry said.
Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković too confirmed that a new tender for the aircraft would be advertised in case Israel, due to US objections, was not able to deliver the F-16 Barak aircraft it offered Croatia.
"If the planes don't correspond to what we agreed, the deal won't be realised and a new tender will be advertised," he told reporters. "Either the planes will be those that were negotiated or there will be a new tender."
More news on the Croatian army can be found in our Politics section.
