ZAGREB, 8 Oct (Hina) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to visit Croatia for the first time on Wednesday, to attend the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Dubrovnik, which he has co-organised with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
This is the third summit to be held in that format – the first one was held in August 2022 in Athens and the second one in February 2024 in Tirana. The purpose of the Dubrovnik meeting is to show Southeast European countries’ solidarity with and support for Ukraine, which has been faced with Russia’s aggression for two and a half years.
According to a Croatian government source, apart from Zelenskyy and Plenković, senior office-holders from 12 countries of the region are expected to attend, including three heads of state, five prime ministers and four foreign ministers.
Participants in the summit are expected to adopt a joint declaration whose text is still being negotiated but it is expected to be in line with declarations from the previous two summits.
The main points of the declaration should include condemnation of the Russian aggression, support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula, support to President Zelenskyy’s peace plan, a request for the prosecution of war crimes in Ukraine, support to Kyiv’s Euro-integration bid and its NATO membership bid, once the necessary conditions are met, as well as support for the country’s energy security and post-war reconstruction.
On the margins of the Dubrovnik conference, Plenković and Zelenskyy are expected to sign an agreement on cooperation between Croatia and Ukraine, to formalise the already existing activities between the two countries, notably in the field of humanitarian assistance, mine removal and prosecution of war crimes. The agreement is expected to put the assistance Croatia already provides to Ukraine on a long-term basis, according to the government source.
The Dubrovnik summit will have the largest number of participants so far.
Attending will be Presidents Nataša Pirc Musar of Slovenia, Jakov Milatović of Montenegro and Vjosa Osmani of Kosovo, and Prime Ministers Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece, Dimitar Glavchev of Bulgaria, Edi Rama of Albania, Hristijan Mickoski of North Macedonia, and Borjana Krišto of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Turkey, Serbia, Romania and Moldova will be represented by their foreign ministers.
The summit will also be attended by European Commission Vice-President Dubravka Е uica and OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann.
The conference has attracted significant media interest, with around 100 reporters and photojournalists from Croatia and the region expected to follow it.
