REFUGEES AND EXTRADITION OF WAR CRIMES INDICTEES PRIORITY OF THE US IN THE BALKANS

ZAGREB, March 4 (Hina) - Progress in the Balkans depends on the return of refugees and cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal, including the arrest and extradition of Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic and Ante Gotovina, US Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones said on Wednesday.#L# Jones made the statement in a speech on the US priorities in Europe before the House of Representatives' Committee on International Affairs. Speaking about the southeast of Europe, she said progress in the region depended on the full implementation of the Dayton Accords which included the return of refugees and full cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague. Jones said this criterion referred to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro. The arrest of fugitive war criminals and their extradition to the ICTY, notably Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic and Ante Gotovina, remains the main priority for the United States and the NATO-led Stabilisation Force, Jones said. She added that Croatia was investing great efforts to achieve progress on the path to NATO within the Adriatic Charter, which also covers Albania and Macedonia. The US hopes for a greater compatibility of Croatia's armed forces with those of other countries, which requires better coordination and stronger political commitment to participation in some military operations in which a large number of European countries are already participating, Jones said. She added the United States hoped Croatia would adopt an agreement on the non-extradition of US citizens to the International Criminal Court. (Hina) it sb