Serbian Leader Criticizes Croatian Counterpart after Cancelling Balkan Summit

(MENAFN) Reports indicate that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has criticized his Croatian counterpart, Zoran Milanovic, following the cancellation of this year’s Brdo-Brijuni regional summit. Milanovic cited what he described as hostile rhetoric from Belgrade as the reason for calling off the annual gathering, which was scheduled to be held in Croatia next month.

In a statement on his website, Milanovic said that “the political statements and actions” of Vucic “disrupt interstate relations, and threaten peace and stability in the Southeast European region,” adding that Vucic’s visit to Croatia was “not possible.”

Responding to the cancellation, Vucic told the Tanjug news agency, “He is absolutely right, I don’t belong there.” He added, “As for the statements and what Zoran Milanovic is referring to, I am not his lackey. Croatia should not feel any danger from Serbia, but they won’t silence us and won’t dictate what we can say.”

Earlier this year, Vucic criticized a 2025 defense cooperation agreement between Croatia, Albania, and the breakaway Kosovo region, calling it “a military alliance aimed at attacking Serbia at some point in the future” and claiming that Serbia’s neighbors were “waiting for a favorable moment when there would be general chaos in the world.” Milanovic dismissed these statements as “silly” and rejected the notion that the cooperation could be considered a military alliance.

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