CRO MINISTER: COMMON INTERESTS MEAN COOPERATION, NOT RIVALRY

RIGA, July 5 (Hina) - The Vilnius Group has proven that common interests mean cooperation and not rivalry and that common values create bonds that are stronger than any contracts, Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula said at a summit of the prime ministers of 10 countries aspiring to join NATO, called the Vilnius Group or V-10, in Riga on Friday. #L# Picula is standing in for Prime Minister Ivica Racan at the head of a state delegation attending the summit entitled "Riga 2002: Bridge to Prague". Racan cancelled participation at the last moment due to the current coalition crisis in the country. Since its establishment, V-10 has on many occasions sent out a message saying its members were ready to protect an integral and conflict-free Europe and that they wanted to do it together, Picula said in his address to the conference. "The only segment of our cooperation that remains to be completed is admission to the same institutional framework, namely NATO," he said. Some countries will accomplish that goal entirely and some to a lesser extent at the summit in Prague, but that will not cause unbridgeable differences among them, Picula said. "As Croatia's Foreign Minister I want to forward a message that Croatia will support all countries which should be admitted to NATO in Prague and be pleased that their admission will expand the joint security space and bring NATO closer to the borders of its future members," Picula said. The Croatian official also spoke about progress in regional cooperation and welcomed NATO's assistance in the improvement of security conditions in the region. At the end of his speech, Picula said that Croatia "strongly believes in the policy of open doors". (hina) rml sb