Croatian minister apologises over awkward kiss for Germany’s Baerbock

Gordan Grlic Radman, the Croatian Foreign Minister, has issued an apology. He greeted Annalena Baerbock, the German Foreign Minister, with a kiss during an EU meeting. This action was criticized as inappropriate. Radman stated that he was not immediately aware that his overly friendly greeting might have caused discomfort to his German counterpart. The meeting involved foreign ministers from the EU and several countries in the process of joining the EU. It took place in Berlin on Thursday. 'Maybe it was an awkward moment,' Radman admitted, as reported by Croatian media. 'If someone perceived something negative in it, then I apologize to whoever interpreted it that way.

Annalena Baerbock, the German Minister for Foreign Affairs, disembarked from a government plane in Yerevan, Armenia on Friday. Due to a delay in his flight, Radman only encountered Baerbock at the 'family photo' session, where all the EU ministers gathered for a group picture. Radman continued, 'I don’t know what the issue was. I didn’t notice it; I wasn’t conscious of it. We always greet each other warmly. It’s a cordial human interaction among colleagues.

Video footage of the incident showed Radman attempting to kiss Baerbock while the 'family photo' was being taken, and she quickly turned away. The German tabloid newspaper Bild was the first to report on the incident. According to Bild, individuals close to Baerbock described it as an awkward attempt at a quick greeting. Critics in Croatia accused Radman of publicly embarrassing a high-ranking German government official and tarnishing the reputation of his own country. Jadranka Kosor, the former Croatian prime minister from 2009 to 2011, posted on social media, 'Forcibly kissing women is also termed as violence, isn’t it?