ZAGREB, February 16, 2018 – Croatian Defence Minister Damir Krstičević said on Thursday, when asked if there might be difficulties if Croatia selected Israeli fighter jets given the political crisis in Israel, that Croatia was considering the bids at state level, making arrangements with a state, so it did not matter who was in power. There is a possibility that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu might be indicted soon.
“We are focused on strengthening the capability of the Croatian army. NATO too, aside from higher budgets, is asking stronger capabilities from the member states. We are in the process of adopting decisions at state level. We had a tender, opened the bids and are now conducting additional consultations in order to make a responsible and affordable decision, taking into account all the things essential to Croatia,” he told Croatian reporters in Brussels.
Asked if Croatia would participate in a mission for the training of Iraqi troops, on which NATO is expected to decide at a summit in July, Krstičević said Croatia was conducting consultations on that and that the final decision would be made by parliament.
He was in Brussels to attend this year’s first meeting of NATO defence ministers. They discussed global security challenges, defence budgets, European Union-NATO cooperation, NATO’s deterrence and defence posture, projecting stability outside NATO borders and NATO’s role in the fight against terrorism.
