BRUSSELS, Feb 27 (Hina) - Croatia might be ready to join NATO in about two years, Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul said in Brussels on Friday following talks with the ambassadors of countries of the Vilnius Group and NATO Deputy
Secretary General Alessandro Rizzo.
BRUSSELS, Feb 27 (Hina) - Croatia might be ready to join NATO in about
two years, Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul said in Brussels on Friday
following talks with the ambassadors of countries of the Vilnius Group
and NATO Deputy Secretary General Alessandro Rizzo.#L#
"Realistically, Croatia can be ready for NATO membership in about two
years, and in order to achieve this goal it is necessary to take a
series of diplomatic steps and also make efforts at home," Zuzul told
Croatian reporters.
"I think this is a realistic assessment and no one has said that this
is not a realistic possibility," he added.
"During talks with the NATO deputy secretary general, we could see for
ourselves that NATO has clearly recognised what Croatia has achieved
in its efforts to draw closer to the North Atlantic alliance," the
foreign minister said.
As the next step in the process of its integration into NATO, Croatia
has to intensify its efforts in adjusting its defence system through
the Membership Action Plan (MAP) so that it can take part in NATO's
activities. The MAP is a programme intended for aspirant countries to
help them reach alliance standards.
Zuzul pointed out that participation in NATO's activities did not
necessarily mean involvement in combat operations.
He said that talks would soon be held with NATO on Croatia's
participation in provincial reconstruction teams (PRT). These teams
consist of soldiers and various experts, such as civil engineers.
There are 11 such teams operating in Afghanistan at the moment, five
of them from the United States and the rest from other NATO member
states.
Speaking of a NATO summit scheduled to take place in Istanbul in June,
Zuzul said that Croatia expected a declaration that would recognise
the progress Croatia had made and indicate a time frame within which
it could expect to be admitted to the alliance.
The talks with the ambassadors of the ten Vilnius Group countries,
seven of which were invited to join NATO, focused on how they would
coordinate their future activities.
"It is in our interest that this group is preserved after the
admission of seven of its members to NATO and that the enlargement
process is not considered finished, because there are three more
countries left," Zuzul said.
He announced that the prime ministers of Vilnius Group countries were
meeting in Bratislava next month.
(Hina) vm sb