CROATIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER RECEIVES USA, CHINESE AMBASSADORS

ZAGREB, Sept 15 (Hina) - Croatian National Parliament speaker Zlatko Tomcic on Friday received the outgoing ambassadors of the United States and China, William Montgomery and Li Quobang, the Parliament's Public Relations office said in a statement. During talks with Montgomery, the two stressed that the Croatian parliament, in the new political circumstances, had ceased being just a voting machine, and was increasingly becoming an initiator and participant of politics in Croatia. Tomcic and Montgomery agreed in the assessment of the situation in the region and said the success of the recently held Stability pact summit would contribute to economic development as a key precondition for defusing the political situation. They stressed the return of refugees was an important factor in this. Tomcic thanked Montgomery for his contribution to the democratic progress of Croatia. The outgoing Chinese Ambassador expressed satisfaction with the progress of friendly relations between Croatia and China, which was contributed to by the recent visit of a Chinese parliamentary delegation. The successful cooperation between the two countries' parliaments opens up the opportunity for further political, economic and cultural ties, Tomcic and Li Quobang said. (hina) lml