"We're a small country and when we see who's here we can see either big or wealthy countries, and that's why we should take our hats off to these people for their hard work," Milanovic told reporters covering his visit to Sicily.
Asked how Croatia would respond to a possible influx of refugees from neighbouring countries, Milanovic said that the situation was being closely monitored and that the government was ready to offer assistance because "those people are looking for a better life and want to move on to the richest countries in Europe."
"I think those people should be given a chance to work, pay tax and contribute, because they will certainly not return and they don't need to return," the prime minister said.
Croatia is participating in Operation Triton with two vessels -- the Andrija Mohorovicic and the Sveti Dujam. When asked about the possibility of Croatia providing additional support, Milanovic said: "Others should get involved too. We're not Great Britain, but what we are doing is a lot."
When asked what it meant to a country that had joined the EU only two years ago to participate for the first time in an international search and rescue operation, Milanovic recalled that Croatia had been involved in the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan for 13 years and that by participating in this operation it was paving the way for other small countries and, considering its size, was making a great contribution.
The prime minister dismissed media speculations that Croatia had been against binding quotas for migrants in the EU, stressing that it had only wanted the European Commission to assume a leading role in tackling this issue and define advisory quotas. "We were in favour of resolving that issue," he said.