Croatia's president refuses to approve new Israeli ambassador

Croatian President Zoran Milanović has refused for seven months to approve the appointment of Israel’s next ambassador to Croatia, citing “the policies of the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” News.Az reports, citing Anadolu.

Israel approved the appointment of Nissan Amdur as ambassador to Croatia in November 2025 and formally requested diplomatic approval from the Croatian presidency, in line with standard diplomatic procedures.

However, Milanović has declined to approve the appointment, leaving the process stalled for seven months.

According to the report, this is the first time in Croatia’s history that a president has withheld approval for an ambassadorial appointment.

Israel’s current ambassador to Croatia, Gary Koren, is expected to end his term later this month and return to Israel.

Because Amdur’s appointment remains blocked, he is expected to travel to Zagreb as charge d’affaires, a position that does not require presidential approval, until the issue is resolved.

The Croatian president also said on Monday that he has ordered the suspension of all cooperation between the Croatian Armed Forces and the Israeli military, citing what he described as Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law.

In a statement on social media, Milanović said that due to “the unacceptable conduct of the Israeli army and the unprecedented violation of all norms of international humanitarian law,” he had already ordered in May last year the termination of all military cooperation with Israel.

He added that this measure covers all members of the Croatian military and applies broadly to defence cooperation.

Milanović also called on the Croatian government to halt any form of trade in weapons and military equipment with Israel.

He said that in a recent phone call, he directly warned Prime Minister Andrej Plenković that “any form of military cooperation with Israel would be unacceptable.”

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev