Brijuni, Croatia, November 12-13, 2004 – Foreign Ministers of member-countries of the U.S. – Adriatic Charter attended a meeting on the archipelago of Brijuni off the Istrian peninsula in Croatia on November the 12th and 13th.
The foreign ministers of Croatia, Albania, and Macedonia, Dr. Miomir Zuzul, Kastriot Islami and Ilinka Mitreva, respectively, participated in the meeting that has also been expanded to include delegations from NATO and nine other countries, including high-level delegations from Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, and the NATO Alliance. Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Europe and Asia, Elizabeth Jones, represented the United States. Croatian Ambassador to the United States, Neven Jurica, participated at the event as part of the Croatian delegation headed by Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul.
Foreign Ministers of Croatia, Albania and Macedonia issued a joint statement at the conclusion of the meeting in which they expressed readiness for more active participation in NATO missions and operations, including those in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
Croatian Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul welcomed Bosnia and Herzegovina’s and Serbia and Montenegro’s wish to join the Partnership for Peace program, stressing that stabilization of Southeast Europe can only be achieved by the integration of the entire region into the EU and NATO Alliance.
The meeting on Brijuni was held in Croatia as part of Croatia’s six-month presidency of the U.S. – Adriatic Charter and it addressed concrete forms of joint and individual contribution to NATO operations.
The U.S. – Adriatic Charter agreement was signed in 2002 by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and the foreign ministers of Croatia, Macedonia and Albania. It states, among other things, that admission of U.S. – Adriatic Charter countries into NATO will be based on individual accomplishments of member states.