ZAGREB, 21 April 2022 - President Zoran Milanović said on Thursday he was honored to be boycotted by such people as cabinet ministers after Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said his cabinet would sever all communication with the president for the rest of his term, except in writing, due to a stream of invective from him.

"Unfortunately, it so happened that I had to call them a gang, which they are because they have been sentenced for it," Milanović said during a visit to the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery in Zagreb.

Commenting on Plenković's statement that Milanović had done damage to Croatia's foreign policy, the president today wondered why Plenković, who, he said boasts of his own great influence in Brussels, had not used that influence for the benefit of the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Milanović also retorted that by doing nothing for the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are currently in an unenviable situation, PM Plenković committed high treason.

As for the commemoration in Jasenovac, Milanović said he would go there with his aides rather than with government officials, whom he accused of encouraging Ustasha-related outbursts and then pretending to be liberals.

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ZAGREB, 16 April 2022 - President Zoran Milanović stated on Saturday in his Easter message that "in these difficult times when there is a serious threat to peace, Easter must remind us that good, solidarity and love for our neighbour is the most important not just religious, but also universal secular principle."

Wishing a blessed and holy Easter, the president says that this greatest Christian holiday "has always given people faith in the victory of light and good, as well as a new beginning."

"This year we are celebrating Easter with wounds that have yet to be healed as a result of the earthquakes and the pandemic in our Homeland, but also exposed to challenges and threats to peace, threats we believed were in the past."

"Confronted once again with war losses and the suffering of people in Europe, our common home, all of us in Croatia are quite aware of the meaning and the value of peace among people and nations," says the Croatian head of state.

He also underscores that  "for the faithful, Easter is a time to contemplate one’s personal choices and reflect on one’s actions."

"Let us accept the principles of good and love as a path towards strengthening mutual solidarity and understanding in the hope that all people will celebrate Easter, the greatest Christian feast, in peace and joy, surrounded by family and friends," says Milanović who at the end of his message wished a happy and blessed Easter to all who are celebrating this holiday in Croatia and abroad, "and to all our fellow Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

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ZAGREB, 7 April 2022 - Sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia will not stop the war in Ukraine, Croatian President Zoran Milanović said during a visit to Switzerland, adding that the war could be stopped only with the help of diplomacy.

"These sanctions will not be enough to stop the war," Milanović said at a news conference after meeting his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis.

The Croatian president said that having followed "the stock exchange in Moscow and the ruble that has returned to the level of a month ago in relation to the dollar", he had to conclude that "as in every such case, it unfortunately only encourages thugs."

"I would be happiest if Russia withdrew in an hour, if it simply left, but that won't happen," Milanović said, adding that the only way to stop the war is diplomacy, with mediation by the countries "that enjoy a certain level of trust."

There are just a few such countries in the world, he said at the end of the news conference, without specifying them.

"Croatia cannot do much in Ukraine," but it can do much in the Western Balkans, he said, adding that he and his Swiss counterpart discussed the topic at Cassis's suggestion.

"That concerns us directly and we have good intentions," Milanović added.

The Western Balkans is very important for Europe's stability and its security architecture, the Swiss president, a liberal and physician by profession, said.

Cassis said he was particularly moved to talk about that with the Croatian president and that it took him back to the time when he worked as a physician in Switzerland, working also with completely traumatised victims of war from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After their meeting, the two presidents participated in a panel on security challenges in Europe and Switzerland's neutrality, after which they were expected to visit CERN, the European organisation for nuclear research.

For more, check out our politics section.

4 April 2022 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović on Monday congratulated the election winners in Serbia and Hungary "despite deformations of democracy."

"That's the choice of their voters," he said.

Milanović said that in relations with other countries one should not "lecture" anyone on internal matters such as "what kind of school classes there will be in Warsaw and Budapest, or what they will teach their children."

"That's their business, that's right. We will break the EU up if we start acting like cosmopolitan moralists," he said.

Milanović said that the current situation was an opportunity for Serbia to finally take a side and decide if it belongs in the West.

"Serbia must decide where its place is. Serbia is a member of Partnership for Peace, not of the Warsaw Pact," he said, adding that Serbia held military exercises with the West and obtained military assistance from it while claims about its big friendship with Russia are "a collective delusion."

Ukraine is not quite democratic either

In his opening address at the Croatia-US Forum, taking place in Zagreb on Monday and Tuesday on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic relations, Milanović said that liberal democracies never go to war against one another.

The experience shows that truly liberal-democratic countries never go to war against one another, because they have predictable, boring and limiting decision-making systems, Milanović said.

Asked later about that statement in the context of the Ukraine war, Milanović said that "neither country (Ukraine and Russia) is quite democratic."

"Ukraine isn't quite democratic either. It did not start negotiations with the European Union to have some kind of status," Milanović said, adding that Ukraine could not be compared with Croatia and other EU countries.

21 March 2022 - On the occasion of International Day of Gifted Pupils, President Zoran Milanović on Monday met with representatives of the Rijeka-based Centre  for Gifted Children.

This year the centre from Rijeka is organising "Gifted Awareness Week" during which it will hold workshops for children and youth, lectures for teachers, expert associates and parents, it was said during the meeting.

The centre's representatives mentioned the problems related to the system of education for gifted children in Croatia.

"Croatia does not have a system to identify gifted children in kindergartens and schools nor a comprehensive system to care for gifted children at the state level," the centre's president, Jasna Arrigoni said. 

Parents spoke about experiences and problems they are faced with in the education system, adding that they hoped the new Education Act, which is currently being prepared, will clearly regulate working with gifted children.

The Centre is an association comprising teachers, school counsellors, psychologists, university professors, early childhood and preschool education student volunteers, teacher education and psychology student volunteers. It was established in 1997 to promote giftedness and raise awareness about gifted children who are exceptionally important for society's development.

14 March 2022 - President Zoran Milanović said on Monday that Croatia should invest more in its air defence system, after a Soviet-era unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) had flown in from Ukraine and crashed in Zagreb last week.

"The investigation into the nature of the UAV that crashed in Croatia is in progress and I would not discuss details. I call on others who address the media on this matter every 15 minutes not to do so either, because they should not have been at the crash site on Saturday," Milanović, who also serves as Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, told a special press conference.

The UAV spent seven minutes in Croatian air space before crashing near a student dorm in the Jarun district of southwest Zagreb shortly after 11 pm on Thursday, damaging about 40 cars in a nearby car park, but injuring no one. It came from Ukraine, having flown over Romania and Hungary, both NATO members.

"Right now that object poses no danger to the Croatian public. I have drawn attention to the shortcomings of the air defence system before, and now is the right time that we start developing it , and fast, even though something like this is unlikely to happen again. We have seen all the shortcomings that exist and the fact that we can rely on NATO, but this is the kind of decision that we make," Milanović said.

He said he expected the government to urgently find sufficient funding for the air defence system, noting that cheaper systems should be purchased first, and then more complex ones.

Speaking of the possible purchase of the US Patriot air defence system, Milanović said that it would be too expensive. 

ZAGREB, 10 March 2022 - A former commercial director of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dinko Suton, will join the Office of the President as its secretary-general.

President Zoran Milanović's decision to appoint Suton has been advertised in the Official Journal and enters into force on 1 April.

At the same time, a decision to relieve Mirjam Katulić as secretary-general of the Office of the President has been published, taking effect on 31 March.

At one stage Suton was the director of the company Milanović established after leaving the post of prime minister.

Katulić, a former employee of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs who is now retiring, joined the Office of the President during Ivo Josipović's presidential term.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 25 Feb 2022 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović said on Friday that big states like Russia were "potential monsters" which should be taken seriously, as should their potential to harm others.

Speaking to the press, Milanović said "all big states are potential monsters" and "should be taken seriously. Their potential to cause damage should also be taken seriously."

"Today it's Putin, tomorrow it will be someone else. One should always take account of that and understand that Russia is not Serbia. Russia is not even France, but much bigger and more different than us," Milanović said.

In Russia, "it's simply darker, it's not democratic and the rules of life are different," he said, adding, "We must see to it that we protect out way of life."

He reiterated that Ukraine should not join NATO, saying this military alliance "must be an exclusive club, inviting only the best."

"It's up to us to assess where we go, who we include and, most importantly, how much it can cost us and how much it can cost small Croatia and its small army."

As for the deployment of Croatian troops in NATO countries, Milanović said it would be optimal if they were deployed in Hungary, and that he felt the conflict spreading to NATO member states "is not even remotely possible."

Milanović said he stood in solidarity with Ukraine but that he did not want the war there to divert the focus from the necessary electoral reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina so that Croats can elect their representatives.

"I sympathise with Ukraine, but this other thing concerns our vital interests. I expect solidarity there, too. There will be no shooting, there will be no war, there will be no killing, but there will be rude obstruction."

"I don't want that focus to be lost because there is no time," he said, referring to the fact that BiH should hold general elections towards the end of the year.

No danger of Ukraine crisis spilling over to the Balkans

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has said that other "regional hegemonists" could use Putin's aggression as an excuse for their own aggressive moves, which some have understood as a reference to Serbia.

Milanović said that Serbia's leadership, which has not yet condemned Russia's aggression against Ukraine, was "on pins and needles" and "waiting to see what will happen."

He said Belgrade did not have the capacity for aggressive action. "What will it attack, Kosovo?... Such things should be explained. Who is being referred to, (Bosnian Serb leader Milorad) Dodik? With what weapons, what ammunition, what money? With whose logistical support?"

"Russian planes can't fly over NATO member states' territories, they can't even come to this region across Bulgaria and Romania. Such things unnecessarily cause tensions and disturb people," Milanović said.

According to him, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is in a difficult situation due to "the burden... of the wars in the Balkans" and cannot recognise the pro-Russian separatist republics in east Ukraine because that would justify the recognition of Kosovo.

Milanović said the EU was treating Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro irresponsibly, creating "illusions, that is delusions, that something will happen." "If we will lie to them, then it's better that we don't promise anyone anything," he added.

He said Georgia's European perspective was an "adventurist policy" because Georgia "must have good relations with Russia, regardless of who is in power."

ZAGREB, 18 Feb 2022 - Croatia embarrassed itself by not spending any of the post-earthquake reconstruction money, so Brussels charitably extended the deadline, but is denying charity to Croats in Bosnia, President Zoran Milanović has said, blaming that on the incompetence of the foreign minister and the premier.

It's not a "total embarrassment," just an "embarrassment, he said on Friday, commenting on the European Commission's decision to extend the deadline until June 2023, to spend the money from the European Solidarity Fund for the post-earthquake reconstruction of Zagreb.

The president said reconstruction took time and that he accepted that not all the money could have been spent because "that's impossible."

Milanović said he had defended the government from attacks for the slow spending of those funds, but added that the government "has practically not absorbed anything" and that he "would have been proud had we utilized 50%."

He said that in Brussels Prime Minister Andrej Plenković "had to buttonhole someone, sponge" and that perhaps they laughed at Croatia and said, "give them this charity."

However, he said, Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina "can't be in a situation to ask for simple moldy charity."

They must not be accused of being a disruptive factor because BiH cannot exist without them, Milanović added.

For months he has been accusing the government of not being successful in Brussels in defending the demands of Croats in BiH for changing the election law in order to stop the Bosniak majority from electing their Presidency member and deputies in the Federation entity's upper house.

As an EU member state, Croatia has its vote and can oppose Brussels' decisions, he said.

Zagreb has not exercised that right to defend Croats in BiH, the president said, pointing the finger at Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman.

Croat representatives will have "my full support," Milanović said, adding that the Croatian government "can" and "must" block elections in BiH unless the election law is changed as demanded by local Croats.

He said it was unacceptable of foreign diplomats to say that the elections would be held regardless.

Criticisms against foreign minister

The president also commented on the failure to appoint Croatia's military envoy to NATO, saying that he was being asked only to sign the appointment, without directly participating in the process.

He said the foreign minister was the reason why he and the prime minister had not decided, even after six months, to relieve of duty all the ambassadors whose four-year terms had expired.

Milanović added that Grlić Radman "will do everything just to be liked by his boss."

He dismissed claims that Croatia does not have ambassadors because he, as the president, was pushing members of the Social Democratic Party as candidates.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 3 Feb 2022 - President and Armed Forces Commander in Chief Zoran Milanović on Thursday decorated retired Colonel Danijel Borović, who was the first to fly a Yugoslav People's Army MIG over to the Croatian side in February 1992, for the bravery and heroism displayed in the Homeland War.

On the 30th anniversary of that flight, the president thanked Borović for his brave act, saying that in the history of the Croatian war some names were rightfully and respectfully known to the wider public and children.

"One of the names that, without reason or justification, is not as well-known is your honourable name, Danijel Borović, colonel of the Croatian Army and the Croatian Air Force, the man who was the first to bring a supersonic fighter jet into Croatian ownership," the president said.

He recalled that in February 1992, after his fellow fighter Rudolf Perišin flew across the border, Borović landed a MIG-21 at the Pula airport in the dark after "dangerously, skillfully, heroically and riskily" separating from a fighter duo, putting the aircraft "into the functional use of the Croatian Air Force, which was just being created."

Great heroic act

"That's a great heroic act because heroism, and only then ownership, is reflected in the choices you had and how you could have acted but did not. You could have left, you could have simply come one day to one of our Croatian commands and registered. What you did surpasses that first option many times," Milanović said.

He said Borović had risked his life not only to bring Croatia a fighter jet but also to make that a very significant and visible way of lifting Croatia's morale at that time.

Thanking the president for the decoration, Borović said it was in a way compensation for what he should have received 27 years ago when many people were decorated in the president's office.

He said injustice was done at that time not just to him but also to his wife and five-year-old son Vanja who had been involved in months-long preparations. "We have made it and this award has found its place after 27 years. I thank you for that."

Borović said that despite the disappointment at that time, he and his wife Snježana wrote a book, "Flyover for Croatia", which he said could be used as a textbook because it described what had been happening in 1992.

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