Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Monday he had asked France to help protect Croatian airspace. Plenkovic visited the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle stationed near Dubrovnik on Tuesday, after which he announced that Croatian and French military forces were conducting exercises in Croatian airspace.
The flight of French Rafale F3R aircraft over Croatia is a message of a strong strategic partnership between the two countries and the safety of Croatian citizens.
– The Prime Minister confirmed in a statement to the press.
Croatian MiG-21 combat aircraft and French Rafale aircraft flew over several Croatian cities during the afternoon.
Then Milanovic instructed the Chief of Staff of the Croatian Army Immediately investigate and determine who is responsible for the inconvenience to the residents of Zagreb, while at the same time banning combat aircraft from flying over Zagreb and other Croatian cities in the future.
The differences between former Socialist Prime Minister Milanovic, former head of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and right-wing Prime Minister Plenkovic, President of the Croatian Democratic Society (HDZ), are not new, and they do not agree on several domestic or foreign policy issues. Recently, however, controversy over the leadership of the army has also escalated, which is why Milanovic has repeatedly called for the dismissal of Defense Minister Mario Panozic because he says he is unfit for the position.
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