PM Plenkovic meets with US Senator McCain

It is important that Croatia and the United States as NATO allies exchange views and that Croatia is kept informed of the policy of the new US administration, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in Dubrovnik on Sunday after meeting with US Senator John McCain during his day-long visit to Croatia.

I would say that the relations between Croatia and the United States are at the highest level, McCain told Croatian Television, adding that the relations between the two countries were more important now than ever before because of the situation in the world.

I appreciate the role of the Croatian government and people in the fight against radical Islamist extremism. When Raqqa falls, a lot of people will try to get to Europe and the US, and our cooperation in that respect is very important and I think it has been successful so far, McCain said, referring to the city in Syria which is the self-declared capital of the Islamic State terrorist group in that Middle East country.

"We discussed the current situation in Southeast Europe, in the European neighbourhood and in the Middle East. It is important that as NATO allies we have opportunities to exchange our views and to be better informed of the policy of the new US administration," Plenkovic said.

"I think that our relations will be stable and that the new administration will maintain our firm partnership. Talks which many Croatian officials have had with representatives of the new US administration in recent months also reflect this," he added.

McCain arrived in Croatia earlier on Sunday at the invitation of President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and the two met in the northern coastal town of Opatija. His visit comes several days before Croatia marks 25 years since the United States recognised it as an independent state. 

The Republican senator, a frequent critic of the policy of US President Donald Trump, supported his latest decision to launch a missile attack on a Syrian airbase from which a chemical weapons attack had allegedly been carried out recently.

"The signal I think that was sent last night ... was a very, very important one," McCain was quoted by Reuters as saying on Friday.

Text: Hina

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