Zelenskyy to seek more war support from a dozen countries in southeast Europe

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DUBROVNIK, Croatia -- Ukraine's president is again seeking political and other support on Wednesday from a dozen countries in southeast Europe at a summit in Croatia, whose president isn't attending in a sign of the divided views on the war with Russia .

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Dubrovnik for the meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and other leaders. Croatian President Zoran Milanovic has criticized Western policies regarding the war as Croatia’s political leadership is divided over support for Ukraine.

“While I am president of Croatia, I will not authorize Croatian troops to be deployed in Ukraine,” Milanovic stated on Tuesday, calling the NATO mission to train Ukrainian soldiers “absurd.”

Zelenskyy stated on X that “we will discuss international efforts to promote peace ... our collaborative response with partners to security threats, as well as cooperation on the path to joining the European Union and NATO."

Kyiv is still awaiting a response from Western partners concerning its repeated requests for permission to utilize long-range weapons supplied by them to strike targets within Russia.

Several Balkan nations have been supplying Ukraine with short-range ammunition. At a prior summit with southeast European countries in February, Zelenskyy requested more assistance to counter Russian advancements.

In Dubrovnik, Zelenskyy will sign an agreement with Croatia for enhanced cooperation, particularly regarding humanitarian assistance, demining operations, and utilizing Croatia's experience in prosecuting war crimes, derived from its own war during 1991-95.

Besides Croatia, the summit is being attended by prime ministers, presidents, or foreign ministers from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey.

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic's administration is the only one in Europe that has not imposed sanctions on Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, Vucic has consistently affirmed Serbia's respect for Ukraine's “territorial integrity.”

Participants at the summit are anticipated to adopt a declaration condemning Russia's aggression against Ukraine and supporting Zelenskyy's peace efforts, Ukraine's membership in NATO, and its post-war reconstruction, according to Croatia's state HRT television.

“All states in southeast Europe share the common principle of respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nations, a cornerstone of peace in Europe since the end of World War II,” emphasized Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic.