Former Croatian Defense Minister: Vučić would attack Kosovo if Russia won in Ukraine within a month

Former Croatian Defense Minister, Ante Kotromanović, has commented on security developments in the region, focusing on Kosovo and Serbia's ongoing rhetoric towards it.

Speaking about the arming of Serbia and the policies of President Aleksandar Vučić, he assessed that this has more of an internal political function than a strategic one.

"I remind you that Croatia and Serbia signed a bilateral agreement on military-technical cooperation in 2009. On its basis, we have sent them aid during the floods and have jointly conducted 10 or 15 military exercises of various types. Everything that Aleksandar Vučić is doing now in terms of armaments is an internal instrument, with which he strengthens his position and that of his party, trying to control all the segments he needs to stay in power," he said.

In this context, Kotromanović emphasized that Serbia's discourse on Kosovo remains ongoing and problematic.

"I believe that Vučić would have descended on Kosovo with his forces and some Russians, if Russia had defeated Ukraine within a month. Who would have stopped him then?" he said.

He also made a distinction between the arming of Croatia and that of Serbia, emphasizing that Croatia operates within the framework of NATO and does not pose a threat.

"Croatia is a member of NATO and has obligations. It is in no way a threat, nor would we join forces to attack Serbia. This is a well-known absurdity."

Kotromanovic also commented on reports of Israel's involvement in supplying Serbia with weapons, also referring to warnings by Croatian President Zoran Milanovic.

"He has more information than I do on this, but the Israelis have definitely sold a number of systems to the Serbs. I even think they have integrated the Zagreb aircraft into their air systems. So I understand this caution and political distancing from Israel. Also, our military would not be harmed if it did not cooperate with Israel."

Speaking about changes in modern warfare, he highlighted the growing importance of technology, especially drones.

"We need to think about drones, today they are used in all segments of war. We need to work and train our forces in this direction."

He also spoke in favor of a model of mandatory military service for all citizens.

"I wouldn't differentiate between men and women. There are just over three million of us and, given what's going on in the world, we should have something similar."

Finally, he also commented on developments within NATO and in the US, mentioning the role of President Donald Trump.

“The alliance is faltering, but the positive side is that members now understand that they need to rely more on themselves and less on the US. NATO will remain, while Trump's mandate ends in two years.”

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