Croatia Says NATO Should Not Expand To Include Ukraine

On Friday, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should not expand to include Ukraine because that threatens Croatia's interests.

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"While I am president, I will be against NATO expanding anywhere," Milanovic was said, adding that the West will face the consequences if it groundlessly stirs up panic about a Russian attack on Ukraine.

Those who advocate the expansion of NATO to Ukraine endangers the interests of Croatia, a member of NATO, and "because we are in NATO, someone could send our people there tomorrow," Milanovic said, referring to the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

On Jan. 25, Milanovic said that Ukraine does not belong in NATO, and the situation along the Ukraine-Russia border is a serious crisis behind which stands primarily the dynamics of U.S. internal affairs. Ukraine has voiced "deep disappointment" over his remarks.

On Friday, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that he is "deeply concerned" over the situation in Ukraine and appealed for de-escalation.

"There is no alternative to diplomacy, and all issues including the most intractable must be addressed through diplomatic frameworks, and it is high time to seriously de-escalate," he said.

"I am often asked whether we are in a new Cold War. My answer is that the threat to global security now is more complex and probably higher than at that time."