RACAN: LONDON TALKS OPPORTUNITY FOR CLEARING UP OPEN ISSUES

LONDON, Sept 29 (Hina) - Talks with Great Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair and his ministers will be an opportunity to discuss relations between Croatia and Great Britain, including some open issues, such as cooperation between Zagreb and the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal, Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan said in London on Monday. #L# Racan, who is on a working visit to Great Britain at the invitation of his British counterpart Tony Blair, will meet senior British officials on the margins of a Labour Party conference in Bournemouth on Tuesday. Racan believes that British officials will demonstrate "interest in and support for Croatia's admission to the EU". The Croatian premier expressed readiness to discuss all obstacles to such support by London, including, he said, the issue of cooperation between Croatia and the UN tribunal. "We believe that our cooperation with (the tribunal) is good and that arguments are on our side. We believe that one unresolved case cannot significantly affect the overall assessment that the cooperation (between Great Britain and Croatia) is good," said Racan. He voiced confidence that the obstacles which prompted London to discontinue the process of ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Croatia and the EU would be removed soon. Before it ratifies the SAA, Great Britain wants a full cooperation between Zagreb and The Hague. The process of ratification was suspended due to the case of General Janko Bobetko, while at present the major obstacle is the case of General Ante Gotovina. If in her annual report to the UN Security Council in October Carla Del Ponte states that she is satisfied with the cooperation between Zagreb and The Hague, Great Britain will carry on with the ratification of the SAA, official British sources have said. Racan believes that the case of General Gotovina will not be the main topic of his talks with British officials. "Should we discuss it, Croatia definitely has strong arguments to support the assessment that our cooperation with the Hague tribunal is good," Racan said, adding that Croatia "should not be punished for something it should have done, but was unable to". The prime minister said he expected more understanding from Great Britain regarding cooperation with the Hague tribunal. (hina) rml sb