NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Hina) - US Secretary of State Colin Powell met representatives of eight South-East European countries, including Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula, in New York on Wednesday. The US official explained his
country's position towards Iraq and promised that the US would continue assisting the stabilisation process and democracy-building in the region.
NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Hina) - US Secretary of State Colin Powell met
representatives of eight South-East European countries, including
Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula, in New York on Wednesday.
The US official explained his country's position towards Iraq and
promised that the US would continue assisting the stabilisation
process and democracy-building in the region. #L#
The meeting was also attended by Albanian President Alfred Moisiu,
Bosnian Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic, Bulgarian Foreign Minister
Solomon Pasiu, Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, Romanian
Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana, Serbia and Montenegro's President
Svetozar Markovic, and Slovene Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel.
Picula, who is attending the 58th session of the UN General
Assembly, told Croatian reporters after the meeting that Powell in
a way reiterated the request for support to his country's policy in
Iraq.
Powell reiterated President George Bush's statements to the UN
General Assembly on Tuesday that Iraq is safer and more prosperous
without Saddam Hussein and that his removal from power creates the
possibility of democracy-building in that country, and called on
other countries to help in the stabilisation of Iraq.
The United States wants the UN to adopt a new resolution securing
military and financial assistance of other countries to Iraq and
disagrees with some Security Council members, especially France,
about when sovereignty over Iraq should be returned to its
citizens.
Picula quoted Powell as saying that in the next few weeks the UN
could adopt a resolution enabling a number of countries to
participate in the stabilisation and reconstruction of Iraq.
With regard to South-East Europe, Powell said that some countries
in the region, which was once the synonym for conflicts and
instability, now participated in NATO and the European Union, while
the general atmosphere in the region was marked by cooperation.
Picula said that the participants requested that the US remain
present in the region, which the US official accepted.
The Croatian official will today meet the US under-secretary for
political affairs, Marc Grossman, to discuss the possibility of
Croatia's involvement in the stabilisation of Iraq, the US request
for Croatia to sign a bilateral agreement on the non-extradition of
US citizens to the International Criminal Court (ICC), regional
stability, and the upcoming parliamentary elections in Croatia.
(hina) rml