Croatian PM says Ukraine is "falling apart"

Croatian PM says Ukraine is "falling apart"

ZAGREB -- Croatian PM Zoran Milanović has said that Ukraine was disintegrating as a state, while Russia "crossed the line of what is permissible" when it comes to Crimea.

Speaking for Croatian Radio, he noted that the situation in Ukraine was "far too complex to be summarized in two sentences," and added:

"It is a state and a nation that was all the time in formation and now it is falling apart in front of our eyes."

The head of government of EU's newest member-state also warned that "nobody is controlling that process."

"Luckily," Milanović remarked, "Croatia does not have to take any radical political stance, because it wants to work with Russia as much as possible."

"That will very much depend on them, so I measure my words to a high degree," he stressed, and noted that there was no united position among EU members when it comes to sanctions against Russia.

"There are different interests, above all commercial interests of some countries. The situation and positions of Portugal and Spain, Germany and Great Britain, or Hungary and Slovakia who are more than dependent on Russian gas, is not the same. Croatia is there in a comfortable zone," said Milanović.

According to him, Russia "went through a horrible period in the 1990s":

"Something that functioned as an empire in the minds of the people disintegrated, regardless of the fact it was communist, borders were pushed dramatically toward the east, more so than ever in 350 years... and it is to be expected that Russians have many frustrations. That should be considered as well."

Another thing that contributed to "that frustration from the Russian angle,"...