Croatia’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Gordan Grlić Radman, commented on the current security situation in the Middle East while recalling NATO’s 1999 intervention in Kosovo. He emphasized that the intervention prevented a humanitarian catastrophe and saved many lives, even though it did not have a mandate from the United Nations.
Grlić Radman stated that since 1945, around 170 conflicts worldwide have occurred without UN mandates, noting that the UN Security Council’s operational capacity has often been blocked by vetoes. According to HRT, he stressed that NATO’s action in Kosovo in 1999 prevented a humanitarian disaster and protected countless civilians.
He made these remarks after a meeting of the presidency of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), where developments in the Middle East were discussed, as well as the decision by President Zoran Milanović to withdraw Croatian troops from Iraq and one contingent from Lebanon.
Grlić Radman underlined that Croatia, as a member of both the UN and NATO, has specific international obligations. Through participation in international missions, he said, Croatia demonstrates solidarity—just as it once welcomed the presence of international forces during its Homeland War.
Commenting on strikes against Iran, he said international calls to halt Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs have failed to produce results. He also expressed regret over what he described as a lack of flexibility and credibility among Iranian negotiators, which, in his view, led to military intervention by the United States and Israel.
