STATE DEPARTMENT COMMENTS ON GRANIC-ALBRIGHT MEETING

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Hina) - The US Secretary of State expressed gratitude during her talks on Wednesday with Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic for Croatia's support and understanding for NATO's operation in Yugoslavia, the State Department said in a statement last night. US diplomats confirmed that the talks between Granic and Albright focused on the situation in Yugoslavia and in Kosovo. Both sides condemned most strongly the crimes against civilians and the exodus of Kosovo Albanians. The US Secretary of State conveyed to Minister Granic guarantees that any attempt by the Belgrade regime to spread the conflict and possibly threaten Croatia would prompt a most severe response by NATO and push Yugoslavia into even deeper isolation, the State Department said. The US side expressed readiness to accelerate and intensify talks with Croatia on its admission to the Partnership for Peace programme. State Department officials also said Granic and Albright discussed the implementation of the Dayton peace agreements, on which the two sides have close stands, as well as the most important bilateral issues. According to the statement, a very important thing for the United States is for Croatia to adopt changes to its election law as soon as possible. (hina) rml