During the group photo of a meeting of European Interior and Foreign Ministers held in Berlin on Thursday, the head of Croatian diplomacy Gordan Grlic-Radman clumsily attempted “to kiss on the mouth” the German colleague Annalena Baerbock creating a case that “caused a sensation in Croatia”.
This was reported by the website of the “Tagesschau”, the news program of the first German public channel. Croatian media report an “embarrassing moment” and women’s rights activists accuse Grlic-Radman of disrespect, the site writes.
«Unpleasant to watch», “a fiasco”: this is how the Croatian and Bosnian media commented on the moment in which, as can also be seen in a video relaunched on
The German minister “obviously felt uncomfortable”, writes the Zagreb newspaper “Jutarnji list”. Women’s rights activist Rada Boric spoke of a “completely inappropriate gesture”, while another activist accused the minister of a lack of decency and respect. Ivana Kekin, a member of parliament, said Grlic-Radman had not only shamed himself, but all Croatians.
Former Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor also criticized the minister, writing on X that “forcibly kissing women is also called violence, isn’t it?”. Meanwhile, Grlic-Radman rejected the accusations and, in a press conference, claimed that he wanted to greet a colleague in a “humane” way given that “ministers always greet each other warmly”. However, the minister apologized for his gesture towards anyone who felt offended. Baerbock has not yet commented on the incident, the Tagesschau website reported late yesterday afternoon.