Minister of Foreign Affairs Attends Washington Conference on Security and Development in the Western Balkans

Washington, March 30 - Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Miomir Zuzul attended the conference "From Security to Development in the Western Balkans", which was organized by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

During his address at the conference, Minister Zuzul said that permanent security and stability in the Western Balkans would be secured by integrating the countries of the region into NATO.

NATO should consider admitting Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina to the Partnership for Peace program once they solve the problems they are facing now, Minister Zuzul said, adding that the inclusion of those countries in the PfP was part of the solution to the problems.

Commenting on the US-Adriatic Charter, Minister Zuzul said the document was an acceptable means of integration, but that each country should be evaluated individually in its efforts to accomplish that goal.

Speaking about admission to the EU, Zuzul said Croatia expected the EU to publish avis, its opinion on Croatia’s membership application by the end of April, adding that the country expected to become a candidate by June.

Croatia is investing efforts to meet all requirements of the international community on its road to EU and NATO membership and is particularly working on the return of refugees, the improvement of the position of minorities, cooperation with the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, and the building of civil society, the Croatian minister said.

Croatia accepts its obligations towards the Hague tribunal and considers the cooperation a legal and not a political issue, Minister Zuzul said.

Asked to comment on Croatia's great expectations from the NATO summit in Istanbul in light of the fact that Hague tribunal indictee Ante Gotovina is still at large, Minister Zuzul said that Croatia's cooperation with the tribunal could be only judged as a whole and not by that case alone as well as by what Croatia could do. Croatia is fulfilling its obligations towards the tribunal, the minister said, by submitting requested documents and witnesses, as well as by the recent voluntary surrender of generals Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac. Croatian authorities have no information about general Gotovina’s whereabouts, said Minister Zuzul.

Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitrij Rupel, said at the conference that the stabilization of the Western Balkans would not be completed until all countries of the region joined the Euro-Atlantic community and that deadlines should be set for that.

Croatia has made significant steps in the reform of judicial, economic, social and democratic institutions and it should be encouraged in efforts to start negotiations on membership in the EU and NATO, Rupel said and added that Slovenia supported Croatia's efforts to join Euro-Atlantic institutions.