Addressing the press before an extraordinary summit of EU heads of state or government, Milanovic said that the meeting would focus on Greece and Ukraine.
"A political camp that made incredible promises has come to power in Greece and they now have to fulfil those promises, and we have to see how we can help Greece, if Greece is the country that needs help the most in Europe. I can also see other countries, which are less developed than Greece, that are paying the bill," Milanovic said, noting that Croatia could soon find itself among those payers.
"Therefore, yes to full solidarity with Greece but rules must be respected. And I don't put too much trust in those who are capable of forming coalitions with the far right, with parties that are practically anti-Semitic, and we have seen it happen in Greece."
He underlined that Croatia was not nearly in a situation as difficult as Greece's, which he said was a country "that has become insolvent for a long period of time to come."
"Our reforms will yield results soon," he said, adding that Croatia was relatively stable in terms of the rate of unemployment, the type of unemployment, public debt and the current account deficit and that it therefore expected 2015 to be a year of growth, with a number of "social, Social Democratic measures designed primarily for citizens and their needs."
He added that reforms would be pursued "within what is practicable and not by seeking loans to such an amount that will leave the next generation staggering under the burden of debts it cannot repay, which is what has happened in Greece."
Milanovic would not comment on the latest agreement on the Ukraine crisis in Minsk, saying he had not seen the document yet, but he expressed hope the agreement would be more serious than a temporary cease-fire. He added that many events in Ukraine "resembled what we witnessed here 20 years ago."
"Basically, Russia has violated another country's sovereignty, it annexed Crimea, and that can't be tolerated," Milanovic said, stressing that Croatian authorities were rather reserved in their statements on Russia's role in Ukraine because "we want to cooperate with Russia and because our exporters have been losing a lot due to the depreciation of the ruble, which is all part of Croatian interests and foreign policy has to take such facts into account as well."
Milanovic also commented on the fact that several dozen Croatian nationals were fighting in Ukraine. "It is a common thing, people go abroad to fight for various reasons, out of conviction, for money or booty."
The important thing is that such activities are not linked with terrorism, he said, adding that if that were the case, not only in Ukraine but also in the Middle East, a way would be found to act against it.