ZAGREB, February 20, 2019 - A delegation of the City of Zagreb, led by Mayor Milan Bandić, and Israeli Ambassador Ilan Mor, on Wednesday visited Jasenovac to commemorate victims of the WW2 Ustasha-run concentration camp.

During the visit, Mayor Bandić said that the Nazi-style Ustasha regime "was neither independent nor democratic or Croatian" and that it was "a dark stain in Croatia's history".

Bandić underscored that during the Second World War, most Croatians sided with the anti-Fascist coalition, explaining that a majority of anti-Fascist units in the area of former Yugoslavia were actually set up in Croatia.

The newly-appointed Israeli ambassador said that this was his first visit to the Jasenovac Memorial Site.

The diplomat added that Jasenovac should be a place of education of young generations so that evil was not repeated.

From August 1941 to 22 April 1945, Jasenovac operated as a death camp where men, women and children were killed because of their religion, ethnicity or ideology. The list of victims contains the names and other information on 83,145 people - 39,570 men, 23,474 women and 20,101 children under the age of 14. The most numerous victims of the camp were Serbs, Roma, Jews and Croats.

More news about Jasenovac can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 29, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday that the government "has an idea" why the purchase of the Israeli F-16 Barak fighter jets fell through, adding that no new steps would be taken regarding the acquisition of new planes until the entire case is thoroughly analysed.

Plenković said that at a meeting with US Ambassador to Croatia Robert Kohorst, held earlier in the day, he did not ask why the sale of the jets fell through because there was no need for that.

"I did not need to ask him. As you know, we are thoroughly analysing the entire process and after our talks with the Israeli side and consultations with the Americans we have a pretty good idea why this has happened," the prime minister said, adding that the analysis, that was still being conducted, would clarify what happened. He said the analysis would be completed in the coming weeks and until then no new steps aimed at acquiring fighter jets would be launched.

Earlier on Monday, Plenković held talks with Ambassador Kohorst who then told the press that he gave a document to the Croatian prime minister which outlined the process for obtaining approval for the F-16.

Shortly after Kohorst said that the statement he had given to the N1 commercial broadcaster about the failed deal between Israel and Croatia about fighter jets' purchase had been misinterpreted, and insisted that the Croatian government should not be blamed for the failure.

Kohorst thus reacted to some media interpretations of his statement that the Croatian government was aware of the procedure for obtaining approval for the purchase of US-made F-16 aircraft from Israel. "Counter to what some press have reported, the United States did not at any time advise the Croatian government not to purchase the Israeli F-16s," Kohorst said in his statement.

Plenković later said he had not seen the document and that this "was the exchange of technical papers at the level of the US Embassy and a representative of the Croatian authorities."

He underscored that the jets were only one of the topics discussed at the meeting, underscoring that Israel's offer with regard the quality and the price of the planes was very good. He reiterated that Israel had assumed responsibility for obtaining approval from the Americans.

More news on the defence issues can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 27, 2019 - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said in an interview with the N1 broadcaster aired on Sunday that the United States had been clear from the very start about the technical requirements for the transfer of F-16 fighter jets but that nobody could have predicted the problems that arose between the USA and Israel regarding the matter.

The president dismissed claims that there was a US non-paper warning about possible problems regarding the sale of Israeli F-16 Barak jets to Croatia.

She said that there was only a white paper with US technical instructions for all bids submitted to the Croatian Defence Ministry that referred to originally U.S.-made aircraft. "I asked US Ambassador Robert Kohorst very directly if there was the non-paper that has been talked about in Croatia. He told me that technical instructions from the United States, not only in the case of the Israeli bid, but also in the case of the Greek bid, as well as the very US bid that referred to new, F-16 Block 70/72 planes... are interpreted as a non-paper," Grabar-Kitarović said.

She noted that the US side had been very cooperative in the process and that it was right to say that it had been clear about the conditions for the transfer of the jets from the very beginning. However, nobody could have predicted the problems that arose between Israel and the USA in the process, she said.

Grabar-Kitarović stressed that she did not consider the failed purchase of the F-16 Barak planes a diplomatic scandal because Israel had assumed responsibility for obtaining US permission for its deal with Croatia.

Croatia was supposed to buy 12 used F-16 C/D Barak fighter jets from Israel for an estimated 2.9 billion kuna.

The deal definitely fell through after Israel officially informed Croatia that it could not obtain approval from the United States for the delivery of the U.S.-made jets because the United States objected to Israel's plan to sell upgraded jets.

More news on the unsuccessful purchase of the aircraft can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 11, 2019 - The United States Embassy in Zagreb said on Friday that during the entire process aimed at providing Croatia with F-16 fighter jets from Israel the United States was clear regarding the conditions necessary for Third Party Transfer (TPT).

The Croatia-Israeli deal has definitely fallen through after Israel officially informed Croatia that it could not obtain an approval of the United States for the delivery of the fighter jets.

After talks with our Israeli colleagues, "I can tell you that the State of Israel has officially informed the Defence Ministry that ... it cannot obtain the necessary approval from the United States for the delivery of the Israeli F-16 fighter jets to Croatia," Krstičević told the news conference on Thursday evening.

"The United States wholeheartedly supported Croatia’s acquisition of a NATO-compatible fourth generation aircraft from Israel, and worked to make this transfer a reality," according to a press release which the US Embassy in Croatia issued after given an exemption from Washington.

Due to the lapse in appropriations on December 21, the U.S. Embassy has been unable to publicly engage with any media. However, Washington has given the US Embassy in Croatia an exemption in order to issue the on-the-record response regarding the sale of Israeli F-16s to Croatia.

"As is common in these types of transfers, there are specific technical conditions that need to be in place to enable U.S. approval of the transfer. We were clear about those conditions throughout, and our December 27, 2018 approval of the transfer was consistent with that message." the US Embassy said.

"We remain committed to assisting the Republic of Croatia in its procurement of NATO-compatible combat aircraft," the embassy said.

Croatia was supposed to buy 12 Israeli F-16 C/D Barak fighter jets for an estimated 2.9 billion kuna payable over a ten year period. The US objected the sale of modified F-16 fighter jets to Croatia.

 More news on the relations between Croatia and the United States can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 11 (Hina) - Croatia's government stated on Thursday evening that it would cancel its decision on the purchase of F-16 jets for the national Air Force, after an Israeli delegation earlier in the day informed Zagreb that it had not managed to obtain the approval from the United States for the delivery of the upgraded used 12 planes to Croatia.

After a meeting on the matter which took place in the main offices of the Croatian defence ministry when the Israeli side officially notified Zagreb that it had not got the final approval from Washington, the delegation led by the Israeli defence ministry's director-general Udi Adam was received by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in Government House.

The government says in a press release that the ministry's director-general Adam informed PM Plenković that Israel had not managed to obtain the approval from the US the sale of the F-16 jets concerned.

Pursuant to the notification, the government is going to annul the decision on the purchase of those fighter jets, however, it remains committed to the plan to modernise the Croatian Air Force.

Croatia should have be provided by Israel with the 12 used F-16 jets, and those were airplanes originally from the USA and enhanced in Israel. Washington, however, did not okay the Third Party Transfer (TPT) for the revamped planes.

At the start of this year, Zagreb set a deadline for Israel to inform it by 11 January if it would be able "to deliver the aircraft offered at the international tender and chosen by the Republic of Croatia in a transparent procedure," the Croatian ministry stated.

"The State of Israel is responsible for obtaining the approval from the United States for the supply of the aircraft configured as agreed by the Republic of Croatia. Upon receipt of the official stand from the State of Israel, the Ministry will inform the Croatian public without delay," reads the press release issued on 4 January.

"In the event that due to disagreement between the State of Israel and the United States the Republic of Croatia does not obtain the aircraft, the Government of the Republic of Croatia will annul the decision on the procurement of the chosen multirole fighter aircraft (dated 29 March 2018)." Croatia has managed the project in a systematic, professional and transparent way, acting in the national interest, the ministry underscored then.

Israel has officially informed the Croatian Defence Ministry that it cannot obtain the approval of the United States for the delivery of F-16 Barak jets to Croatia, Croatian Defence Minister Damir Krstičević told reporters on Thursday.

After talks with our Israeli colleagues "I can tell you that the State of Israel has officially informed the Defence Ministry that ... it cannot obtain the necessary approval from the United States for the delivery of the Israeli F-16 fighter jets to Croatia," Krstičević told the news conference.

"Given that fact, the ministry will propose to the government to act accordingly," Krstičević said, adding that the two countries had not signed an agreement and that there are no financial consequences for Zagreb.

Krstičević stressed that Croatia "had done everything right" and that it was not at all responsible for this "unexpected complication" which Zagreb had no say in whatsoever. "We have asked all the questions and we have received appropriate guarantees," the minister said adding that Croatia "led this complex process from the beginning to the end systematically and responsibly, taking into account exclusively Croatian national interests."

He underscored that that the Croatian Defence Ministry remained opened to cooperation and development of relations with the defence ministry of "our partner, the State of Israel" and that Croatia still had the political will to maintain the ability of military air force developed during the Homeland War. "I am confident that this government will know how to realise that," he concluded.

The Israeli delegation at the talks, that lasted several hours, was led by the defence ministry's director-general Udi Adam who said that during the entire process Croatia and Israel had an open and professional dialogue. He said Croatia showed professionalism and right judgment in each step of the way and that it was unable to influence the outcome which is why it could not be held responsible for it.

Unfortunately, the conditions were not ready and we were unable to secure the appropriate TPT (Third Party Transfer)and carry out the project due to due to unexpected circumstances that were out of our control.

The meeting was arranged after the deal was halted due to disagreement between Israel and the U.S.A following the US objection to the sale of modified F-16 fighter jets to Croatia. The Israeli-US dispute has to do with who owns the technology and intellectual property rights.

More news on the acquisition of the F-16 jets can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 9, 2019 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Zagreb on Wednesday that a meeting with representatives of the Israeli Defence Ministry on the delivery of Israeli F-16 fighter jets was scheduled for Thursday in Zagreb, and after the Israeli side notified Croatia about its position, the latter would decide on the matter.

"We will first see what officials of the Israeli Defence Ministry are going to tell us, and after that we can make pertinent decisions," Plenković told the press when asked about a probability for advertising a new tender for the procurement of fighter jets.

On 29 March 2018, the Croatian government unanimously adopted a decision on the procurement of 12 Israeli F-16 C/D Barak fighter jets that are supposed to cost Croatia 2.9 billion kuna over a ten-year period.

The Israeli bid included the delivery of 12 upgraded used Israeli F-16 fighter jets for about 420 million euros. The aircraft are between 25 and 30 years old and are supposed to replace the outdated MiG-21 aircraft used by the Croatian Air Force.

The Israeli bid also includes two flight simulators, training of pilots and maintenance staff, and weapons for the aircraft. The plan is to use these aircraft for up to 25 years.

The Israeli bid was one of the four. All the four bids for the procurement of multi-purpose combat aircraft, to replace the Croatian Air Force MiG 21 jets that have been in use since the 1991-1995 war, were opened at the Croatian Defence Ministry in Zagreb on 3 October 2017. The bids were presented by representatives of Greece, Israel, Sweden and the United States.

The aircraft to be purchased were various models of the F-16 jet, which have been offered by Greece, Israel and the USA and which are part of their air forces, and the JAS 39 Grippen fighter jet, manufactured by the Swedish concern SAAB. The Greeks and the Israelis offered used planes.

However, the process of the delivery of the Israeli planes was delayed due to disagreements between the U.S.A. and Israel over the matter.

On 7 December, the US Ambassador to Croatia, William R. Kohorst, commented on the problem regarding the sale of modified Israeli F-16 fighter jets to Croatia, saying that Israel has to accept the set technical requirements for the American side to agree to the sale of 12 fighter jets, adding that the debate has to do with who owns the rights to the technical and intellectual property.

Plenković reiterated today that as far as Croatia was concerned, the whole process was transparent and the Craotian side requested the checking of all information a few times. The decision on the choice of the Israeli offer was made on the basis of the information available then, Plenković underscored. Some of the information that has recently appeared was not known before, he added.

Plenković said that Croatia continued being firmly devoted to the maintenance of the capabilities of its Air Force. Everything else is a matter of technological offers and financial sustainability, he explained.

More news on the Croatian military can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 7, 2019 - Israel will not be able to complete the F-16 sale which was signed with Croatia last March, following Washington's restrictions on the sale deal, Yent, the online edition of Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily, said on Sunday.

Israel's Defence Ministry Director-General Udi Adam is scheduled to visit Croatia on Wednesday and inform the Croatian Defence Ministry that the deal is cancelled, Ynet said.

Adam plans to apologise to Croatian authorities because Israel cannot complete the deal.

Israel and Croatia signed the 500 million dollar deal for 12 F-16 Barak aircraft, modified Israeli versions of US-made fighter jets. The US, however, approves the transfer to a third party only of aircraft without the Israeli upgrades. Croatia would not agree to that and gave Israel until January 11 to say if it can honour the deal as it was agreed.

More news on the attempted acquisition of the fighter jets can be found in our Politics section.

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.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not find a solution for the sale of Israeli F-16 fighter jets to Croatia at their meeting in Brazil on Tuesday, report Večernji List and Jutarnji List on January 2, 2019.

Diplomatic sources close to Israel says that Pompeo and Netanyahu did discuss the topic, but that the agreement was not reached.

Americans remain firm in their position that Israel can only sell to Croatia the original version of the F-16 aircraft, without any upgrades which were added by Israel in the meantime, which is, on the other hand, unacceptable to Croatia.

According to a senior Israeli official, the sale of aircraft to Croatia was the only disagreement Pompeo and Netanyahu did not solve during their meeting. "The matter is stuck in deep bureaucracy,” the Israeli official said.

On December 27, the US State Department sent a letter to Israel with more than ten conditions which need to be met in order for the US government to allow the sale of US-produced aircraft to Croatia. They all boil down to the same - Americans demand that the aircraft, which the Israelis have modernised with 17 modifications, must not have anything on them that is not American.

The deadline for Israel’s final reply expires on Friday, but some saw the meeting between Pompeo and Netanyahu in Brazil, where both of them attended the inauguration of the new Brazilian president, as a possibility for an agreement to be reached. This option does not exist anymore.

It is expected that Croatia will annul its decision to buy the Israeli aircraft and will annul the tender for the purchase of combat aircraft.

The news was first published by the US website Axios, which has extensively covered the issue of the sale of the aircraft to Croatia in recent weeks.

More news on the sale of the aircraft can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 29, 2018 - The Defence Ministry will propose to the government not to sign the agreement with the Israeli government on the purchase of 12 F-16 fighter jets should they be modified as requested by the US government, because in that case they would no longer be F-16 Barak aircraft with which Israel won the Croatian tender, Defence Ministry official Davor Tretinjak said in a television interview on Friday evening.

"If the whole equipment is changed, both the Israeli and American, and modified with state-of-the-art American equipment, then it's no longer the F-16 CD Barak," Tretinjak told the HTV public television service commenting on the latest media reports that the US was making the sale of the US-made Israeli aircraft conditional on the removal of the Israeli equipment built into them.

In that case, the Defence Ministry would have to propose to the government not to conclude the government to government agreement with Israel and to suspend any further talks, he added.

Asked if that meant that a new tender would be issued, Tretinjak said: "We will see with the government what a Plan B would be and what further steps to take".

The US news website Axios said on Thursday, citing an unnamed Israeli official, that the sale of US-made Israeli fighter jets to Croatia was practically "dead" after outgoing US Defence Secretary James Mattis refused to soften the US terms for the transfer of the aircraft.

To approve the deal, the US demanded that Israel remove the Israeli systems installed in the F-16s and return the jets to their original condition before transferring them to Croatia. HTV said that Israel should respond to the US demands by January 4.

Tretinjak said that Israel had built its own equipment into the F-16 CD Barak and that these modifications were decisive for its selection. "This plane satisfies our needs," he said, adding that Croatia and Israel had been given a guarantee from the US approving the sale of such modified aircraft.

In September, the US State Department sent approval to Israel, which in turn forwarded it to Croatia, giving it permission to sell the F-16 CD Barak aircraft, modified with Israeli equipment, to Croatia. "That letter is filed both in Israel and in the Croatian Defence Ministry," Tretinjak said.

Asked what had changed in the meantime, Tretinjak said he did not know. "We expect this matter to be resolved in the coming days, because so far there has been no mention of replacing the entire equipment of the F-16 Barak with American equipment. In that case it would no longer be a government to government agreement, but several agreements would be required. The Defence Ministry has not been authorised by the Croatian government to conclude such an agreement on the government's behalf nor would it manipulate others. We would bring into question our own transparency, the transparency of the entire procedure," he said.

Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Davor Bernardić said on Friday that Defence Minister Damir Krstičević should make an "honourable and soldierly move" and step down if the purchase of 12 F-16 Barak fighter jets from Israel fell through.

"We should wait and see whether the purchase will go through. If the deal fails, it will be a major international embarrassment for Croatia. I think in that case General Krstičević, who took part in the (1991-1995) Homeland War, will make a responsible, honourable and soldierly move," Bernardić told reporters during a party gathering in Nedelišće, about 100 kilometres north of Zagreb.

The US news website Axios said on Thursday, citing an unnamed Israeli official, that the sale of US-made Israeli fighter jets to Croatia was practically "dead" after outgoing US Defence Secretary James Mattis refused to soften the US terms for the transfer of the aircraft.

More news on the Croatian army can be found in our Politics section.