NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic said on Wednesday that Croatia would decide on its own when the 350 Croatian troops currently serving in the peace mission in Afghanistan would return home and if it would participate in the financing of Afghan police and military forces after the withdrawal of international troops from that country.
"After 2014 the ISAF mission will no longer carry out combat operations but its role will turn into mentoring. Croatia is a sovereign country that makes its own decisions on its participation in international missions," Grabar Kitarovic said in an interview with Croatian Television.
She recalled that Croatia was implementing 23 civilian projects in Afghanistan, independently or in cooperation with the UN Development Office, and welcomed a Croatian project for the education of young girls in Afghanistan.
Asked if Croatia was meeting the NATO recommendation about the allocation of 2% of GDP for defence purposes, she said that only a few countries did so in the current time of crisis.
Defence allocations therefore must be applied in a useful way, so NATO insists on the Smart Defence concept so as to be able to continue carrying out its tasks and building its capacities in the current crisis, Grabar Kitarovic said.
