In this Jan 20, 2023 photo, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic gestures as he addresss a joint press conference with his Hungarian counterpart at the presidential Sandor Palace in Budapest. (PHOTO / AFP)

ZAGREB - Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Monday criticized the visit to the Republic of Korea and Japan by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and condemned the Western decision to send battle tanks to Ukraine.

"I see that the chief of NATO is in South Korea and Japan ... He does not represent me and my country there. It is not a NATO area, but it is in the neighborhood of China. It has nothing to do with Croatia," Milanovic said as he met the Croatian troops dispatched to participate in NATO's enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup in Lithuania.

Milanovic also condemned the West's decision to send German tanks to Ukraine, stressing that sending weapons will not end the conflict in Ukraine

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Stoltenberg is in the ROK and Japan between Jan 29 and Feb 1 to address the alleged security threats from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and China.

Milanovic also condemned the West's decision to send German tanks to Ukraine, stressing that sending weapons will not end the conflict in Ukraine.

"Russian tanks have burned out and the same fate awaits the German tanks," Milanovic said.

As opposed to the Croatian government which was willing to participate in the new Military Mission of the European Union to support Ukraine, the Croatian president rejects military training for Ukrainian soldiers in Croatia and criticized Western policies in Ukraine.

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As some in the European Parliament are talking about "tearing Russia apart," Milanovic termed the idea as "crazy."