Croatia’s Policy Towards Russia: To Be a Hawk for no Good Reason

Croatia-Russia relations were officially opened on 25 May 1992 following the Russian recognition of Croatia as an independent state. In the 2000s and early 2010s consecutive presidents of Croatia, Stjepan Mesić and Ivo Josipović, made a number of official working visits to Russia. The accession of Croatia to NATO in 2009 and the European Union in 2013 limited any possibilities for independent political cooperation with Russia, although there is still space for development of constructive bilateral relations at some stage. Indeed, it could be argued that until Russia’s annexation of Crimea and intervention in Eastern Ukraine during 2014 bilateral relations had generally been in the ascendancy. From a general perspective, the year 2014 represents a milestone in Western relations with Russia, which was immediately also reflected upon Croatia-Russia relations.