CROATIA APPLAUDS AGREEMENT BETWEEN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO

ZAGREB, March 14 (Hina) - Croatia on Thursday hailed an agreement reached by Serbia and Montenegro on a new state union and the role the UN High Representative for External Affairs, Javier Solana, played in reaching the agreement. Croatia shares the EU's assessments about the importance of the agreement on future relations of a union between Serbia and Montenegro, the Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Croatia has always stressed it advocates that relations between the two states should be solved primarily through negotiations and an agreement, the statement said. "We believe that this definitely closes a historic period and with the confirmation of the statehood of Serbia and Montenegro, that is, the definition of their relations on these basis, new perspectives of relations and normalisation in this part of the world are made possible," the ministry said. It is of strategic interest to Croatia to have a stable neighbourhood to peace and security could be preserved, as well as the development of the entire region. Croatia hopes that the reached solutions will be confirmed in practice and that the new relations will contribute to a faster and more successful solving of remaining open issues in their relations with Croatia which remain as a tragic and difficult legacy from the former Yugoslavia, the statement said. (hina) lml sb