Croatia will host the Balkan leaders' summit on Ukraine next week, which will also be attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Croatian prime minister said.
The aim of the summit, to be held in the southern Adriatic resort of Dubrovnik, is for "the whole region to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom", Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said during a regular government meeting.
He did not disclose the date of the meeting, but according to government sources and local media reports, it is scheduled for Wednesday.
The previous Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit was held in February in Tirana, the capital of Albania.
Zelensky attended that meeting and called for more support to help repel Russian forces while his soldiers on the front suffer from ammunition shortages.
Speaking alongside the new NATO chief in Kiev, Zelensky said his country was trying to persuade its Western backers to shoot down Russian missiles and drones fired at Ukraine.
The summit in the Croatian coastal city of Dubrovnik will take place amid a domestic political row between the government and populist President Zoran Milanovic over Ukraine.
Milanovic has refused to support the government's proposal to send Croatian officers to a NATO mission in Germany to train Ukrainian soldiers.
Milanovic, whose powers are limited but is commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces, said on Facebook that he would not allow Croatian soldiers to "participate in activities that push Croatia towards war."
The prime minister accused Milanovic of acting against national interests.
He urged MPs to overturn the president's decision, which would require a two-thirds majority in parliament. | BGNES
