By Ismail Ozdemir and Efe Ozkan
ZAGREB/ISTANBUL (AA) - Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Wednesday called on the country’s government to initiate the parliamentary process for recognizing Palestine as a sovereign and independent state.
“Croatia should recognize Palestine as a step toward ending the war and the human catastrophe in Gaza. Recognizing the rights of the Palestinian people to their own state is the only way to establish lasting peace in the Middle East,” Milanovic said in a meeting with Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian in Zagreb, according to a presidency statement.
Milanovic also strongly condemned the Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza and the announced occupation plan.
Milanovic said that he would “advocate strongly for Croatia to recognize Palestine as soon as possible and is calling upon the Government of the Republic of Croatia to initiate the procedure to recognize Palestine in the Croatian Parliament.”