Grabar

Grabar-Kitarovic had the full backing of the conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), which has led the governing coalition since 2016 and boasts a powerful party machine across the country.

Even so, Milanovic beat her soundly in the second round in early January, scooping 52.66 per cent of votes compared with 47.34 per cent for Grabar-Kitarovic.

A Croatian political expert said Sunday's presidential election victory by the centre-left candidate, Zoran Milanovic, was to some extent a protest vote against his rival's "hard-core nationalist campaign".

Zoran Milanovic won the second round of the presidential election in Croatia on Sunday, according to preliminary results, after nearly 100 per cent of votes were counted.

The Social Democratic candidate and former prime minister took 52.70 per cent of the votes, comfortably beating his centre-right rival, incumbent president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, who won 47.30 per cent.

Incumbent President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic said that Croatia would insist on Serbia's meeting all criteria, which, as she said, "must face its past", instead of returning to World War II, in order to "experience the catharsis of what they did to Croatia and to other neighbouring countries".

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic says she will discuss Russian-Serbian military cooperation when she meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We need to talk about the area of ​​Southeast Europe, we will talk about Russian-Serbian military cooperation," Grabar-Kitarovic has told TV N1.