Russia said Monday it strongly protested remarks by Croatia's foreign minister accusing President Vladimir Putin of war crimes in Ukraine.
Putin "already committed war crimes", Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman told the state-run HR radio last week.
He also voiced hope that the Russian leader's "autocratic regime will not last long".
The Russian embassy said Monday that Moscow "voiced a strong protest to Zagreb" over the minister's statements.
Grlic Radman's "insulting language and unfounded accusations" against Putin are "absolutely unacceptable", it said.
It is "also completely unacceptable to qualify as a 'regime' legally elected authorities of the Russian Federation and talk publicly about desirability of their dismissal as soon as possible", the embassy added.
It warned that such "irresponsible behaviour ... is destroying the tissue of bilateral ties between the two countries".
Croatia is a member of both NATO and the European Union. As an EU country it imposed sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.
