PM Plenkovic rejects defence minister's resignation

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Tuesday refused to accept the resignation of Defence Minister Damir Krsticevic.

"As Prime Minister, I do not accept the resignation announced by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Damir Krsticevic," Plenkovic told a press conference in Zagreb.

According to media reports, Krsticevic announced his resignation after President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said on Tuesday that the army could have responded earlier to help contain a wildfire in the Split area and called for an investigation to establish how the fire broke out and how it spread.

Plenkovic said that the fire response team had met in Split earlier in the day after a disastrous wildfire broke out in the city's outskirts during the night between Sunday and Monday. He said that it was one of 14 active wildfires in Split-Dalmatia County in the last three days.

Text: Hina