ZAGREB, March 26 (Hina) - Anto Kovacevic, an MP from the Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HKDU), asked government members during question time in parliament on Wednesday if US Ambassador to Croatia Lawrence Rossin had apologised
to the Croatian premier, people and government for his statement that Croatia would face the consequences of its position towards the US operation in Iraq.
ZAGREB, March 26 (Hina) - Anto Kovacevic, an MP from the Croatian
Christian Democratic Union (HKDU), asked government members during
question time in parliament on Wednesday if US Ambassador to
Croatia Lawrence Rossin had apologised to the Croatian premier,
people and government for his statement that Croatia would face the
consequences of its position towards the US operation in Iraq. #L#
Recalling that Rossin this week held a meeting with Premier Ivica
Racan, Kovacevic said an apology would have been a civilised act.
Vice-Premier Goran Granic would not answer Kovacevic's question
directly even after a repeated inquiry.
Granic said the government regretted Rossin's statement and
considered it a misplaced statement made under the pressure of
daily politics marked by war events, which, in a way, stripped
Croatia of the right to make independent decisions.
"We agreed during the talks that Croatia had the right to implement
its policy on its own," Granic said.
The vice-premier said it was Croatia's right to take care of
national interests and added that one could not allow a problem,
regardless of its importance, to be put exclusively in the context
of bilateral relations.
(hina) rml sb