CROATIA BACKS NATO AIR STRIKES AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA

ZAGREB, March 25 (Hina) - Croatia supports NATO air strikes against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) considering them as means for forcing the Yugoslav authorities to accept a peace plan for Kosovo, the Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. Croatia resolutely endorses efforts of the international community to force, by all possible and necessary means, the FRY government to accept proposed peaceful solutions, the statement read. Taking into account the seriousness of the crisis, we maintain that it is a completely justified decision of the NATO member-countries to use also military force in order to stop the bloodshed and ethnic cleansing and to stimulate the full acceptance of a peaceful solution to Kosovo based on fruits of the modern democracy and the respect for rights of minorities in Kosovo, the statement added. The Croatian Foreign Ministry said that from the very beginning of the Kosovo crisis Croatia had been advocating a political and peaceful settlement to this problem, which would respect legitimate interests of the Albanian majority (in Kosovo). According to the ministry, the Serbian party should be held accountable for the escalation of the crisis, since it had broken a cease-fire, launched an offensive attacking civilian targets, and turned a deaf ear several times to calls of the international community to halt military operations. Croatia calls on the Serbian leadership to immediately stop action against innocent civilians in Kosovo, accept the peace agreement and enable the continuation of the peace process, the statement concluded. (hina) ms