Croatia's President seeks urgent meeting with PM over military command dispute

President and Armed Forces Commander in Chief Zoran Milanović asked Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to an urgent meeting over what he called "government pressure" on the Chief of the General Staff and a "threat" to the Armed Forces command system.

Milanović sent Plenković a letter, which is reproduced in full below, CE Report quotes HINA.

"Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I hereby inform you that, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, I have issued an order that the Croatian Armed Forces will not participate in the military parade in Paris on July 14, 2026. The implementation of this order is the responsibility of the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Tihomir Kundid.

Given that the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces has been subjected to pressure from the Government of the Republic of Croatia, through which he is being urged not to comply with and not to implement the Order of the President of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, I propose that we hold an urgent meeting to discuss these circumstances, which directly undermine the command system of the Croatian Armed Forces.

Undermining the command system also seriously jeopardizes the stability of the entire defense system, which represents a serious issue and requires all parties to return clearly to the constitutional and legal framework prescribed by the Constitution and the laws."

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