Prime Minister Andrej Plenković met today with the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Mark Rutte, who is on a working visit to Croatia. They began the meeting by touring the Rafale fighter jets, the Bayraktar unmanned aerial vehicle and the Black Hawk helicopters at the “Colonel Marko Živković” Barracks in Pleso, and then discussed key security challenges, strengthening European defense and modernizing the Croatian Armed Forces at Banski dvori. They also held a meeting with representatives of the Croatian military industry.
Upon his arrival in Zagreb, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, accompanied by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Minister of Defense Ivan Anušić, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman, and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Tihomir Kundid, toured the new military equipment of the Croatian Air Force at the “Colonel Marko Živković” Barracks in Pleso.
Members of the Croatian Air Force presented him with the latest equipment that Croatia has acquired and showed him six of the 12 Rafale fighter jets, three Bayraktar drones, and a Blackhawk helicopter.
Modernization of the Croatian Defense Forces
“These combat aircraft have contributed to the improved operational capability of our air force. Last year, all 12 Rafale aircraft were delivered to us and since the beginning of this year, we have completely taken control of the Croatian skies with our aircraft,” said Chief of the General Staff Kundid.
He highlighted the transition of the Croatian Armed Forces from Eastern to Western military equipment and technology as a key factor.
“Our priority is to equip, modernize and develop our operational capabilities. We are implementing many different projects that will contribute to a higher level of our combat power,” he added, mentioning the acquisition of new battle tanks, medium-range air defense systems and missile systems.
Prime Minister Plenković expressed satisfaction that Secretary General Rutte had the opportunity to see part of the squadron and gain insight into the very real and systematic process of replacing Eastern military technology with Western technology that is fully compatible with NATO and has strengthened the Croatian defense system in the long term.
Over 1.9 billion euros allocated for defense in 2025
After the meeting in Banski dvori, in a statement to the media, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković emphasized that the visit of the NATO Secretary General comes in demanding security circumstances for Europe and the world, a situation of global insecurity that requires full attention, involvement and readiness.
At the meeting, he reported, he introduced him to numerous activities of the Croatian Government in terms of fulfilling the commitments undertaken in recent years, primarily the obligation to allocate two percent of GDP for defense.
In this context, he added that, in budgetary terms, Croatia ended 2025 with 2.08 percent of defense allocations, a total of one billion and 931 million euros, while the budget of the Ministry of Defense was slightly more than 1.5 billion euros.
As for the percentage of these funds related to modernization, he added, it amounted to almost 34 percent.
These activities were complemented by the purchase of modern technologies, such as Caesar self-propelled howitzers and Leopard battle tanks.
Croatia is also using new European Union instruments for defense, he added, such as the SAFE instrument, from which it has 1.7 billion euros in loans at its disposal.
Croatia’s responsibility as a member of the Alliance, the Prime Minister said, is also evidenced by its participation in five missions, with around 270 members of the Croatian Army, in Kosovo, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania and Iraq.
For Ukraine 15 packages of military aid so far
They also discussed Ukraine, and Prime Minister Plenković pointed out that the Croatian Government has provided 15 packages of military aid in the past few years, as well as a contribution to the priority list coordinated by NATO for the purchase of weapons that are produced only in the USA.
“Ukraine is not only defending its freedom, but also defending democracy, values, and even the security of Europe, and that is why it is important for us to understand that the consequences of Russian aggression were more than obvious on the entire continent and on our energy situation,” Plenković pointed out.
He announced that in the spring of 2027, Croatia will host an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers for the first time.
“We want our participation, as a country that is not as large as some others, to always be serious and responsible, and to always be a reliable and responsible partner,” he said.
Rutte: Croatia’s strong contribution to collective security
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stressed that Croatia has been a valued member of NATO since joining the Alliance in 2009.
“Croatia contributes significantly to our collective security, not only on our eastern flank and in the Western Balkans, but throughout the Alliance,” he said, adding that he had recently met with Croatian soldiers on a mission in Poland.
Secretary General Rutte welcomed the Croatian government’s efforts to modernize defense capabilities and the strides made by the Croatian military industry, especially in the field of innovation.
Croatia already invests more than 2 percent of its GDP in defense, and is working to achieve the goal set at the Hague summit of 5 percent investment by 2035, he added.
He also welcomed the fact that Croatia officially assumed full responsibility for protecting Croatian airspace as of January 1 this year.
Russia will not deter us from unwavering support for Ukraine
Croatia is also fulfilling the obligations that the allies have undertaken in unwavering support for Ukraine, the Secretary General emphasized, adding that since the beginning of the Russian aggression in 2022, Croatia has sent over 300 million euros in military assistance to Ukraine.
Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine continues, Secretary General Rutte warned, adding that last week we witnessed the use of Orešnik missiles and continuous attacks on civilians and energy infrastructure.
Russia is trying to deter us from supporting Ukraine, but we will not be deterred, he said, adding that Ukraine’s security is the security of all of us.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Plenković, he emphasized, Croatia has truly been an important partner for Ukraine.
Croatia also plays an important role in ensuring stability in the Western Balkans, said Rutte, highlighting its long-standing participation in the KFOR mission.
Arctic security is a priority for all allies
Responding to questions from journalists, Secretary General Rutte stressed that all allies agree on the importance of the Arctic and Arctic security and that there is a risk of increased activity by Russia and China in the area.
Of the eight Arctic countries, he added, seven are NATO members: The United States, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, while one is not, which is Russia.
As an Alliance, together with our seven Arctic allies, we must cooperate to ensure the security of the Arctic and that region, which is a vital part of NATO’s territory, he stressed.
“The message from all allies and members of the European Union is that allies must respect each other,” said Prime Minister Plenković, responding to statements from the US administration regarding Greenland in the context of Arctic security.
He added that he was confident that a solution could be found through talks that would provide security for the United States while respecting the fact that Greenland is part of Denmark.
“Quality dialogue can resolve this situation for the benefit of all and for general global security,” the Prime Minister believes.
Talks on security guarantees for Ukraine
They also referred to the peace plan for Ukraine and, in this context, Ukraine’s possible membership in NATO.
When it comes to Ukraine’s membership in NATO, Rutte recalled the statement after the Washington 2024 summit about Ukraine’s irreversible path towards NATO, which still stands.
At the same time, he added, some allies, including Hungary and the United States, are either against or very skeptical about Ukraine’s full membership.
What we are currently discussing in the Coalition of the Willing is how to ensure that Russia never attacks Ukraine again after the peace agreement, Rutte said.
Prime Minister Plenković welcomed the strong desire of the United States to create the preconditions for peace. To ensure that peace, he added, Russia, which is the aggressor on Ukrainian territory, is also needed.
At the moment, he explained, we have a problem, because Russia first wants an agreement, and then a ceasefire, while the entire concept of the Coalition of the Willing is first a ceasefire, and then steps towards a peace agreement.
This agreement, he warned, should never be such that Ukraine de jure gives up its occupied territories.
At the same time, Russia wants to re-establish relations with the US, and then get into a situation where the existing sanctions regime is gradually lifted, and then achieve full rehabilitation on the international scene.
Regarding Croatia’s position, the Prime Minister reiterated that the presence of Croatian soldiers in Ukraine is not an option, but like many other members of the Coalition of the Willing, we will find ways to help Ukraine with political, humanitarian and energy support.
Security guarantees for Ukraine are very important, Prime Minister Plenković emphasized, but he added that at this moment it is more than clear that there is no consensus among the allies to accept Ukraine as a NATO member.
Airspace security
When asked about the level of security in NATO airspace, Secretary General Rutte praised Croatia for taking responsibility for its own airspace since January 1 this year.
He also said that the so-called Eastern Guard has been organized and is being used on the eastern borders.
Prime Minister Plenković pointed out that with the new Rafales, Croatia has the ability to react within a maximum of 15 minutes of any alert.
After the situation with the downing of a drone in Croatia a few years ago, the entire readiness has been raised to a higher level, he said.
NATO is not in crisis; US is encouraging us all to spend more on defense
As for relations within the alliance, especially with the United States, the NATO Secretary General said he believes President Trump is doing the right thing for NATO by encouraging everyone to spend more to match US spending.
Rutte added that he is absolutely convinced that without the US president, NATO members would not have reached two percent of defense spending or agreed to spend five percent of GDP on defense and security by 2035, which includes 3.5 percent for defense needs and 1.5 percent for related investments in cyber defense, critical infrastructure and civil preparedness.
“NATO is not in crisis,” Rutte stressed.
Prime Minister Plenković concluded that the changed circumstances of the past few years have pulled everyone out of a position of lull, in terms of the security that we all took for granted.
“Today, that is not enough, today we must rely on our own forces, be very well interoperable with allies, and create the preconditions so that those who want to destabilize the world and even take other people’s territory in violation of international law have as little margin as possible to do so,” he said.