ZAGREB, August 27, 2025 (WAFA) – Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Varsen Aghabekian on Wednesday handed over a letter from President Mahmoud Abbas to his Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanović.

During a meeting at the capital of Croatia, Zagreb, Minister Aghabekian conveyed the Palestinian leadership’s greetings and appreciation to the Croatian President Milanović for his country’s positions in support of the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination, as well as for his statements advocating for the recognition of Palestine.

She briefed President Milanović on the war of genocide and starvation relentlessly waged by Israel against the Gaza Strip, as well as on Israel’s settler-colonialism, ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, colonist attacks, and Israel’s attempts to undermine the two-state solution.

President Milanović strongly condemned Israeli attacks on civilians and criticized the announced plan for a military occupation of Gaza, stressing that such an occupation cannot be justified under any circumstances, as reported by the Croatian news website Croatia Week.

He conveyed to Minister Aghabekian his belief that the recognition of two states – Palestine and Israel- is the only fair resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli ‘conflict’.

“Croatia needs to recognise Palestine as a step towards halting the war and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Acknowledging the Palestinian people’s right to their own state is the only path to establishing lasting peace in the Middle East,” President Milanović said during the meeting.

He also announced that, within the framework of his constitutional powers, he would firmly advocate for Croatia to recognise Palestine as soon as possible, while calling on the Croatian Government to initiate the process in Parliament to formally recognize the State of Palestine.

K.F.