ZAGREB, 27 Apr 2022 - President Zoran Milanović's statement that the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO should be blocked will not change the good relations between Croatia and Finland, Finnish Ambassador to Zagreb, Kalle Kankaanpää, told Hina on Wednesday.
"I don't think anything will change in relations between Croatia and Finland", the diplomat said, adding that bilateral relations have always been good at all levels.
"I have been here as ambassador for more than a year. I closely follow politics in this country and am familiar with the way politics are run in Croatia", the Finnish ambassador said.
Kankaanpää explained that on Tuesday his minister of foreign affairs, Pekka Haavisto, had a good conversation with his Croatian counterpart, Gordan Grlić Radman, and that he himself had contacts with representatives of the parliament and government.
In Finland, an active discussion is ongoing on whether the country should join NATO or not, a final decision can be expected in May, the ambassador said.
On Tuesday, Croatian President Zoran Milanović said that Finland and Sweden could not join NATO before the election law in Bosnia and Herzegovina was changed.
The Croatian parliament "must not ratify anyone's accession to NATO" until Bosnia and Herzegovina changes its election law, he told the press. The accession of Finland and Sweden can be discussed, but it is "a very dangerous adventure," Milanović added.
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