ZAGREB, Jan 29 (Hina) - In view of a crisis situation in this region and the fact that no basic problem has yet been resolved, it will be in the interest of NATO to see Croatia as a full member-country of the Alliance as soon as
possible, the Croatian parliament's deputy speaker, Zdravko Tomac, asserted on Monday. Tomac, the Sabor foreign affairs committee's head, and a few other MPs on Monday held a meeting with Mr. Nicola de Santis, NATO official in charge of southeastern Europe. After their talks on real chances for Croatia to become very soon a NATO member-country, Tomac told Hina that all participants in the Zagreb meeting were unanimous in the assessment that those were "unreal announcements" that by 2007 NATO would accept nobody into the full membership. Besides, it will be in NATO's interest as well to make it possible for Croatia to enter the Alliance as soon as possible, thus enabl
ZAGREB, Jan 29 (Hina) - In view of a crisis situation in this region
and the fact that no basic problem has yet been resolved, it will be
in the interest of NATO to see Croatia as a full member-country of
the Alliance as soon as possible, the Croatian parliament's deputy
speaker, Zdravko Tomac, asserted on Monday.
Tomac, the Sabor foreign affairs committee's head, and a few other
MPs on Monday held a meeting with Mr. Nicola de Santis, NATO
official in charge of southeastern Europe.
After their talks on real chances for Croatia to become very soon a
NATO member-country, Tomac told Hina that all participants in the
Zagreb meeting were unanimous in the assessment that those were
"unreal announcements" that by 2007 NATO would accept nobody into
the full membership.
Besides, it will be in NATO's interest as well to make it possible
for Croatia to enter the Alliance as soon as possible, thus enabling
Zagreb to play the role it is expected to play, Tomac explained.
"It is also up to Croatia to convince the West police that it mustn't
be classified into an unstable society of the western Balkans and
have the destiny of those states," he said.
"On the contrary, if they (West politicians) want Croatia to play
its role in the western Balkans, they should realise that it can do
it much better (...) as a NATO and European Union member-state," the
Croatian official added.
Nicola de Santis is in the NATO Secretary-General's office and his
task is to draw up an information strategy of the Alliance in
relation to Croatia. That's why he is going to hold talks with
representatives of all the segments of the Croatian society.
Croatia has a role of establishing the security in this part of
Europe, and therefore it is an important partner of NATO, he said.
Expressing his readiness to support Zagreb's bids to enter NATO, de
Santis advised MPs that Croatia should forward a formal request for
the NATO full membership.
Our goal is that one day all countries in the Balkans become NATO
member-states, but each of them will be assessed individually, de
Santis said in the Sabor.
(hina) ms