We see a strong partner in Croatia in combating terrorism, which is one of the priorities of our foreign policy, the spokesman for the US Department of State Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs told Hina in a phone interview. Croatia has made a step forward and showed it was ready for a strong partnership, the spokesman said.
Croatia has proven that partnership by doubling its contingent in Afghanistan recently, the same source said. Another proof is assistance provided by Croatia in the training of Iraqi police, the spokesman said, adding that Croatia was very active in the anti-terrorist coalition.
He stressed the importance of Croatia's future membership of NATO and the European Union for the development of bilateral relations.
Croatia is a serious candidate for NATO and the EU, he said. We believe in a strong EU as a partner to the United States and we are confident that Croatia can be a part of it, the spokesman said.
When it comes to NATO, we see great cooperation between Croatia, Macedonia and Albania within the US-Adriatic Charter, which is a guarantee of Croatia's orientation towards NATO, which we most definitely support, the spokesman said.
The White House confirmed yesterday that US President George W. Bush will receive Croatian PM Sanader on October 17. The meeting will offer President Bush and Prime Minister Sanader an opportunity to further strengthen the partnership between the United States and Croatia, read the press release issued in Hoover, Alabama, which Bush visited yesterday.
Croatia and the US have intensified bilateral contacts in the past six months. US Vice President Dick Cheney visited Croatia to attend a US-Adriatic Charter meeting in Dubrovnik, while Croatian President Stjepan Mesic and PM Sanader held talks with President Bush on the margins of the session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
An agreement on the non-extradition of US nationals to the International Criminal Court has not been the subject of bilateral talks for quite a while, Croatian and US diplomatic sources in Washington confirmed.
Croatia's failure to sign the agreement has cooled its relations with US, as a result of which the US has reduced its military assistance,