GRANIC: PEACE IN REGION CONDITIONAL UPON ADMISSION TO EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS

ZAGREB, April 13 (Hina) - Permanent peace and stability in south- east Europe can be accomplished only through the admission of the countries in the region to the most important Euro-Atlantic institutions and their cooperation, Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic said in Zagreb on Tuesday. "It is obvious that the regional stability of this part of Europe can be preserved only through its integration into all relevant political, economic and security institutions", as well as by developing the overall relations between the countries in the region, he said. Granic was addressing a briefing on talks US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright held on Monday with the foreign ministers of the so-called countries of the first line (Yugoslavia's neighbours) at a working dinner in Brussels. The issue of permanent stability was addressed within talks on the latest suggestion of a stabilisation pact for south-east Europe, put forward by Germany, and the important roles which are given in the proposal to the European Union, NATO and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). However, details were not discussed "because they have not been defined yet", Granic said. Albright informed the foreign ministers of the first-line countries about the conclusions of a session of NATO's Council of Ministers held on Monday. She reiterated NATO's determination to continue air attacks on Yugoslavia with even greater intensity, including new planes and Apache helicopters, until Slobodan Milosevic capitulates and accepts the conditions he is being offered, Granic said. The meeting also tackled the refugee disaster and problems of countries which have accepted the largest number of Kosovo refugees (Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro), as well as the economic damage all countries in the region are suffering. Granic told reporters that he had reiterated Croatia's full support for the NATO action from its very beginning. This was "very favourably assessed", he said, adding that Croatia's stability and trustworthiness as a partner of the West is its major advantage in talks on its admission to Euro-Atlantic integration processes. The Foreign Minister expressed hope that all of this will help Croatia's speedier accession to the Partnership for Peace. This, "along with our admission to the World Trade Organisation, is an important aim for us" currently, Granic said, adding Croatia was ready to meet the conditions which were expected of it - the adoption of an election law with as much consensus as possible and as soon as possible, its cooperation with The Hague Tribunal and the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement. "Croatia will meet these requirements because they are in its interest and we believe that the procedure of Croatia's admission to the Partnership for Peace will be accelerated", Granic said. At the working dinner with the US Secretary of State, the "real names" were mentioned for the first time in relation to all that has been happening since 1988, including the concept of "great Serbia", Granic said. "What was difficult to explain to anyone in 1991 has now become possible", he added. Answering a reporter's question, Granic said he doubted that the war in Yugoslavia could spread to other countries in the region since NATO had engaged too strong forces to let it happen, although he allowed for the possibility that the region might become destabilised because of the refugee pressure. Croatian Deputy Foreign Minister Ivo Sanader, who led a Croatian delegation at a meeting with the EU Council of Ministers in Brussels last Thursday, at which Joschka Fischer presented the "pact" proposal for the first time, informed the news conference of the main idea of the proposal. The basic idea of the "stabilisation pact" is an attempt to permanently stabilise the area, which until now was considered a "grey zone", with the aim of integrating it into Europe, "so one could conclude that it would be a form of continuation of the regional approach policy", Sanader said. The war in Kosovo has demonstrated different levels of strength and development of the countries in the region, judging from the assistance they are requesting in order to prevent refugees from destabilising them, Granic said. During the war, Croatia cared for more than 700,000 refugees and it had considerable problems but it was never "destabilised because of this", Granic said. Albright said at the Brussels meeting that NATO was not considering land operations, but rather intensifying air raids. "Unofficially and behind the scenes, this option was discussed very much. However, no one requested Croatia to do anything in that sense nor was there any mention of it", Granic said. "For now, Croatia is requested to provide exclusively logistic support for humanitarian operations" and that support has been granted, Granic added. In a week time, Croatian officials will start talks with US officials, including Ambassador Montgomery and State Department officials, on "rules of the road" for entering the Partnership for Peace, Granic said. Asked whether Croatia would attend the celebration of the 50th anniversary of NATO, Granic said there were indications that it could be invited to attend the event as a guest or monitor-country, since it is highly likely that "a meeting like last night's one could be held" at the time of the celebration, the Foreign Minister said. (hina) jn rml