LAST DETAILS OF US-ADRIATIC CHARTER ARE BEING HARMONISED

ZAGREB, March 6 (Hina) - A US-Adriatic Charter, whose last details will be harmonised in Dubrovnik on Friday by foreign ministers of Croatia, Macedonia and Albania, with US representatives present, is not an initiative which implies the three countries' mandatory joint accession into NATO. Rather, individual achievements will be taken into account, said an official of the Croatian foreign ministry on Thursday. #L# Foreign Ministers of Croatia, Macedonia and Albania, Tonino Picula, Ilinka Mitreva and Ilir Meta respectively, with the presence of US Ambassador Lawrence Rossin, will meet in Dubrovnik on Friday morning. This will be the last such meeting before the signing of the US-Adriatic Charter, announced for the end of the month in Washington. "The preamble of the charter will include a provision on individual approach. Underlined is the principle that countries should be evaluated according to their own achievements," Zoran Milanovic, Croatian co-ordinator for NATO and MAP, told Hina over the telephone. The charter does not state the exact year of future admission, but it does say that the three countries could become members of NATO as soon as possible, as soon as they meet conditions, said Milanovic. The year 2006, mentioned in the media as the year of Croatia's entry into the organisation, is not explicitly mentioned in the text of the charter, but could be the year of Croatia's accession, he said. He, however, did not fully exclude next year's summit at which seven countries of the Vilnius Group, which had been invited to join NATO at a summit in Prague, could be officially accepted. The seven countries -- Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Rumania, Slovenia and Slovakia, were invited at last November's summit to join NATO, leaving Croatia, Albania and Macedonia behind. The three countries were promised an open doors policy by US President George W. Bush and NATO Secretary-General George Robertson. The text of the charter has already been handed to the American and Croatian governments. The exact signing date in Washington has not yet been set. The preamble incorporates the principles of cooperation of the three countries. It is further divided into sections on the essential commitments of the members, including democracy, the rights of minorities and suppression of terrorism, cross-border crime and weapons of mass destruction. The charter does not state concrete obligations of the three countries, but more general conditions for all members. As had been previously announced by the foreign ministry, the charter is a document which should encourage the ongoing reform of the armed forces. Cooperation of the three countries will be in the spirit of the activities of the Vilnius Group, were the focal point was joint lobbying and support to entry into NATO. (hina) lml sb