CROATIA WON'T SIGN U.S. ICC NON-EXTRADITION TREATY - DEPUTY MINISTER

ZAGREB, June 12 (Hina) - Croatia will not sign a treaty on the non- extradition of U.S. citizens to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and has proposed the matter be resolved through bilateral agreements with Washington, Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Simonovic said on Thursday. #L# He spoke to reporters after talks with a U.S. delegation headed by Ambassador Marisa Lino including legal experts of the State Department and the Pentagon. The Croatian delegation was comprised of representatives of the ministries of defence and justice. "Croatia has openly said 'no' to the treaty in the way it was presented, but has also said 'yes' to further dialogue," said Simonovic. He explained Croatia could not sign the document out of political and legal reasons but could give the U.S. additional protection by signing bilateral accords based on which U.S. citizens would be extradited to Washington and not the Rome-based ICC. "That is in line with Article 98 of the Rome Statute and in line with EU guidelines," said Simonovic. He said the U.S. delegation was acquainted with the practical issues Croatia had concerning the U.S. request, primarily with regard to the jurisdiction of the Hague war crimes tribunal over Croatia. According to Simonovic, the U.S. side showed understanding for Croatia's standpoints. The Americans will express their view of the talks later, he said, adding today's talks were just the beginning of dialogue between Zagreb and Washington. He also said U.S. military assistance to Croatia this year was not in question. The U.S. has threatened to stop military aid to countries which did not sign the non-extradition treaty by July 1. Simonovic said the issue of fugitive Hague indictee Ante Gotovina had not been mentioned today. (hina) ha