Bebic said that Croatia recognised the United States as the most important partner in the area of defence cooperation which he said had started in 1995 and continued in the period of peaceful reintegration of the Danube area to the present day, when Croatia was preparing for NATO membership.
Bebic said that Croatia was hoping to receive an invitation to join NATO in 2006. He said that Croatia would not have been admitted to the Partnership for Peace without US support, the parliament said in a statement.
During her meeting with Cosic, Ricardel said that the Pentagon highly appreciated the contribution of the Croatian forces in the peace operation in Afghanistan. She stressed that the military reforms that Croatia had implemented and was still implementing, as well as legislative changes, had been recognised and supported by NATO.
The USA wants to help Croatia in its aspirations to join NATO as well as in all projects and processes of transformation of its armed forces, she said.
Earlier in the day, Ricardel was received by Prime Minister Ivo Sanader. She will meet President Stjepan Mesic on Friday.