WILL CROATIA HAVE OBSERVERS AT NATO EXERCISE IN SLOVENIA?

ZAGREB/LJUBLJANA/BRUSSELS, Nov 16 (Hina) - Judging from the information obtained on Monday from Ljubljana and NATO headquarters in Brussels, Croatia will not have its observers at NATO's Partnership for Peace military exercise which is being held in Slovenia from 15-29 November. A NATO official in Brussels told Hina today that only those countries which are members of the Partnership for Peace programme can participate in NATO military exercises. They can either directly participate in those exercises or attend them as observers, he said. Croatia is not a member of the programme and therefore cannot have official observers at such an exercise. The "Cooperative Adventure Exchange" exercise, which is being held in south-east Slovenia, is a tactical exercise of a multi-national brigade for quick intervention, consisting of representatives from NATO and Partnership for Peace countries. An important part of the exercise focuses on the training of a medical corps and its central part will last from 20-27 November. The NATO official also said that the possible invitation to non- member countries could be sent only by the country hosting the exercise. Asked whether Slovenia had invited Croatia to attend the exercise as an observer, an official with the Slovene Foreign Ministry said it was not his country but NATO who was authorised to do that. Sources in the Slovene Embassy in Zagreb said Slovenia had tried to obtain a permit with NATO to invite Croatian observers but there was still no positive reply. (hina) rml