BUDAPEST NATO CONFERENCE STARTS

BUDAPEST, May 29 (Hina) - The foreign ministers of NATO member- countries, including Croatia's Tonino Picula, gathered in Budapest on Tuesday for the working part of a conference dedicated to the situation in the Balkans, the establishment of European Union rapid reaction forces and the US anti-missile shield. #L# The ministerial conference, which is held behind closed doors, will tackle the situation in the Balkans, including the situation in Macedonia, southern Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina - the areas where NATO forces are deployed. The NATO Council will also discuss the establishment of European rapid reaction forces, a project which has encountered problems due to Turkey's blockade. All NATO member-countries from Europe which are not EU members (Turkey, Norway, Iceland, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary) have been offered an advisory role in the setting up of an EU force for the resolution of crises since that force would be using NATO equipment. However, Turkey is not satisfied with the proposal and wants to play an active part in the military planning and decision-making with the right of veto. The European rapid reaction forces should have 60,000 troops and be ready for possible operations by 2003. Part of the conference will be dedicated to the controversial plan of development of the US anti-missile shield, which has been strongly opposed by China and Russia, but some US allies have shown reservations toward it as well. It is expected the NATO ministers would demand much more details on the plan than they have been provided with so far. Later this afternoon, the NATO Permanent Council will hold a meeting and it has been announced that Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and US Secretary of State Colin Powell will meet on the margins of the conference. The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), which gathers NATO and Partnership for Peace member-countries, will hold a meeting in Budapest tomorrow. Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula will attend the meeting. Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic has been invited as well, which is the first time a representative of the official Belgrade has been invited to a NATO meeting at such a high level. The two-day Budapest conference is the first official meeting of NATO ministers held behind the former Iron Curtain. (hina) sb rml