ZAGREB, Feb 23 (Hina) - Croatia is facing a difficult process but it can count on the assistance of the United States, which believes in the new authority, US Ambassador to Croatia William Montgomery said in Zagreb on Wednesday. The
new Croatian government is facing a series of problems, of which the economic ones are the gravest, Montgomery said. The situation in economy is very difficult and the government led by Ivica Racan should explain to the people of Croatia the seriousness of that situation because resolving that problem will be very complex, he said. The United States will help the new government in implementing its goals. There is a prospect of significantly improving military relations between the two countries, of Washington's increasing financial assistance to Zagreb and of opening an office for trade development assistance (TDA) in Zagreb, the US ambassador said, adding his country wo
ZAGREB, Feb 23 (Hina) - Croatia is facing a difficult process but it
can count on the assistance of the United States, which believes in
the new authority, US Ambassador to Croatia William Montgomery said
in Zagreb on Wednesday.
The new Croatian government is facing a series of problems, of which
the economic ones are the gravest, Montgomery said. The situation
in economy is very difficult and the government led by Ivica Racan
should explain to the people of Croatia the seriousness of that
situation because resolving that problem will be very complex, he
said.
The United States will help the new government in implementing its
goals. There is a prospect of significantly improving military
relations between the two countries, of Washington's increasing
financial assistance to Zagreb and of opening an office for trade
development assistance (TDA) in Zagreb, the US ambassador said,
adding his country would help Croatia enter the NATO Partnership
for Peace programme and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The USA is quite certain that the new authority in Croatia
completely believes in democratic principles and it wants Croatia
to become its strategic partner in the region, Montgomery said at
the first diplomatic forum held in Zagreb. The event was organised
by the Institute for International Relations (IMO).
Cooperation between Croatia and the USA is most important in
Bosnia-Herzegovina because together, Montgomery said, the two
countries will be able to help Bosnian Croats in the best way.
Croatia should play the leading role in the Stability Pact, the
Ambassador said, adding if Croatia did not take that role, he did
not know who could.
The problem of Bosnia-Herzegovina will not be resolved until all
countries in the region undergo a process of democratisation and
Croatia can assist in that process in several ways, he added.
The Dayton agreement cannot be changed because if one change is
made, everybody will believe that other changes can be made too if
they are persistent enough and that would leads to a disaster,
Montgomery said, adding none of the three ethnic groups in Bosnia-
Herzegovina were implementing the Dayton agreement the way they
should have. Bosnian Croats have taken the lead (in not
implementing the agreement) because the other two ethnic groups
avoided implementing it in a more clever way.
Croatia faces a new period in which the myth of the world being
against Croatia's independence will be debunked, Montgomery said.
The world was not against Croatia but against the then ruling
structures, he added.
(hina) jn rml