EU foreign ministers meeting
Kiss for Baerbock: Croatia’s Foreign Minister apologizes
Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman greets Annalena Baerbock with a kiss during a group photo at the European Conference in Berlin. photo
© Joerg Carstensen/dpa
Video footage shows the moment the Gordan Grlic cyclist leans in for a kiss while posing for a group photo. “I don’t know what the problem was,” said the Croatian politician.
After a kiss that was deemed inappropriate by the audience Annalena Baerbock apologized to Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman. He was not immediately aware that he might have embarrassed his German counterpart with the friendly gesture at the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Berlin on Thursday. “Maybe it was an unpleasant moment,” Radman said, according to Croatian media. “If anyone saw anything bad in that, then I apologize to whoever took it that way.”
Because his plane was late, he only saw Baerbock during the “family photo” with all his EU colleagues, Radman continued. “I don’t know what the problem was. I didn’t see it; I wasn’t aware of it. We always greet each other warmly. It’s a warm human interaction between colleagues.”
An awkward greeting?
Video footage of the incident showed Radman trying to kiss Baerbock while taking the “family photo” and how she quickly turned away to the side. The “Bild” newspaper first reported about it. According to “Bild,” those around Baerbock said it was a clumsy attempt to quickly greet each other.
The Croat is now being accused, among other things, on social networks of having publicly embarrassed a German government politician and shamed his country. “Kissing women forcibly is also called violence, right?” wrote Croatia’s former Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor (2009-2011) on the platform X (formerly Twitter).