ALBRIGHT VOICES SATISFACTION WITH PLAVSIC'S DECISION

WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Hina) - US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright expressed satisfaction on Tuesday with the fact that a former Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavsic had shown readiness to cooperate with the Hague war crimes tribunal and respond to its summons. It must have been a difficult decision for her, but it was the only decision she could made, Albright said. Plavsic, a former president of Republika Srpska, left for The Hague on Tuesday. It has not been made known yet whether Plavsic will appear before the court charged with genocide and gravest violations of the international humanitarian law. Only Svetozar Mihajlovic, a vice- president of the Serb People's Alliance, the party whose president Plavsic was until recently, said she had left for The Hague because she was "suspected of war crimes." During what was probably her last meeting with reporters, Albright reiterated that the policy conducted in the former Yugoslavia had been the right policy. She sees the main proof of this in democratic changes which have occurred in all former Yugoslav states. Albright said the situation in South-East Europe was the second most important foreign policy issue for the United States, after the Near East. Albright is confident that peace and stability in a united Europe are a top priority for the United States, worth investing diplomatic and military efforts into. Albright defended this stand during her talks with her successor Colin Powell and she believes the United States will remain present in the Balkans. (hina) rml