CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS POLAND

WARSAW, June 25 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic, on a day-long visit to Poland, on Friday held talks with Polish counterpart Bronislaw Geremek in Warsaw. Talks touched upon the Stability Pact for south-eastern Europe, the denouement of the Kosovo crisis, integration with Euro-Atlantic institutions, and bilateral relations. After the talks, Granic said he was satisfied with the support Poland is giving to Croatia's endeavours to access Euro-Atlantic integration, approach the European Union, and enter NATO's Partnership for Peace programme. The two foreign ministers also talked about the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Mission to Croatia; as former presiding country, Poland is still a member of the OSCE troika. "We talked about the European Union's and international community's expectations of Croatia which, as is known, refer to the refugee return process, the passing of a (new) electoral law, the transformation of Croatian Television into a public television, and cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. I believe Croatia can fulfil these expectations, because it is in its interest to do so," Granic said. The two ministers pointed to the importance of tourist cooperation. According to Polish sources, some 140,000 Polish tourists are expected to vacation in Croatia this year. The Croatian foreign minister was also received by Polish parliament president Sejma Maczey Plazynski and Upper House vice president Donald Tusk, with whom he discussed the future development of political and economic relations between Croatia and Poland. The parties assessed political relations are increasingly better, but added there is sufficient room to strengthen economic cooperation. (hina) ha jn