PRAGUE, Nov 22 (Hina) - Croatia must fulfil its international obligations, and that refers primarily to the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) and cooperation with the Hague-based UN war crimes
tribunal, so that it could join NATO in the next three to four years, Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula said in Prague on Friday.
PRAGUE, Nov 22 (Hina) - Croatia must fulfil its international
obligations, and that refers primarily to the implementation of the
Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) and cooperation with
the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal, so that it could join NATO
in the next three to four years, Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino
Picula said in Prague on Friday. #L#
Picula is part of a delegation headed by President Stjepan Mesic,
which is attending a NATO summit in Prague.
"Croatia faces extensive work, and this does not refer only to the
reform of the armed forces, so that in the coming period, I believe
in the next three to four years, it could actually join NATO,"
Picula said.
"This means primarily the implementation of the SAA and cooperation
with the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, which is one of the
main indicators of our readiness to meet international standards,"
said Picula.
Croatia must fulfil political, economic, security, defence and
legal criteria. "This is a set of obligations which will not be easy
to fulfil, but there is no alternative," Picula said.
The Croatian delegation at the summit also includes Defence
Minister Zeljka Antunovic who today spoke with US Deputy Secretary
of Defense, Mira Richardel, about Croatia's cooperation with the
ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)
and its policy towards neighbours.
Antunovic said she had initiated a discussion on Croatia's
cooperation with the tribunal and explained that her country was
committed to cooperation as well as that it needed understanding.
(hina) rml