After their meeting was cancelled a few days ago, Croatian Foreign Minister and US Secretary of State talk on the phone.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Croatian Foreign Minister Miro Kovač spoke by phone on Friday, several days after their scheduled meeting was cancelled at the last moment, reports Index.hr on May 7, 2016.
US State Department spokesperson John Kirby issued the following statement: “Secretary Kerry spoke today via phone with Croatian Foreign Minister Miro Kovač. They discussed the challenges facing Europe, including energy security. The Secretary underscored U.S. commitment to work with Croatia on regional stability and exchanged views with Foreign Minister Kovač on Croatia’s future as a regional energy hub. They agreed to meet in the near future.”
Minister Kovač was scheduled to meet with Secretary Kerry on Wednesday in Washington, but the meeting was postponed after he had already arrived to Washington “due to urgent obligations of both sides”. The cancellation has prompted speculation in some Croatian media that Kerry deliberately avoided meeting due to the revitalization of the Ustasha symbols and the poor state of media freedom and human rights in Croatia.
Embassy of the United States issued a statement at the time, claiming that “the only reason for the postponement of Secretary Kerry’s meeting with Foreign Minister Kovač was mutual scheduling conflicts. The relationship between the United States and Croatia remains strong. The United States and Croatia mutually agreed to reschedule this bilateral visit on another date.”
Interestingly, on Saturday, some Croatian media reported that Minister Kovač went to Washington to meet with Secretary Kerry without informing Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković and President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. That might be one of the reasons why the President in a recent interview criticised the Minister for his work and for not replacing some of the Croatian ambassadors for whom, according to the President, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether they represent the interests of Croatia or the countries in which they are serving.
