PICULA WRITES TO POWELL ON 2ND ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11 ATTACKS

WASHINGTON, Sept 11 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula sent a letter to US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday on the second anniversary of terrorist attacks on the United States, saying that Croatia supports the US in its fight against global terrorism. #L# "I would like to use this opportunity to reiterate that Croatia fully supports your country's fight against international terrorism," the minister said. Croatia has joined the international anti-terrorist coalition "not only for the sake of solidarity with the United States, but because of the profound sense of threat posed by terrorism against all democratic and freedom-loving countries", the letter said. "As a country whose goal is to join the European Union and NATO and which has endorsed the common values represented by the two organisations, Croatia is determined to continue actively contributing to efforts to eliminate the threat of global terrorism," Picula said. As part of its efforts in combating terrorism, Croatia has sent its soldiers on a peace mission to Afghanistan and provided humanitarian aid to the country. It has also been preparing soldiers for the peacekeeping operation in Iraq. The second anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon was also commemorated at the Croatian Embassy in Washington, where tribute was paid to the 3,000 people from 90 countries, including Croats, who were killed in the attacks. (hina) rml