NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic held talks with US State Secretary Madeleine Albright in New York on Wednesday. The talks focused on the fulfilment of commitments of Croatia in the peace process in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, towards the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague and in the process of reintegration of the Croatian Danube river region.
NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic
held talks with US State Secretary Madeleine Albright in New York
on Wednesday.
The talks focused on the fulfilment of commitments of
Croatia in the peace process in Bosnia-Herzegovina, towards the
International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague and in the process
of reintegration of the Croatian Danube river region. #L#
"These two issues are crucial in the overall relations
between Croatia and the United States," Granic said after the
talks.
Granic is visiting New York this week for the 52nd session
of the UN General Assembly.
Regarding the peace process in Bosnia, the main issue was
the "cooperation with the Tribunal in The Hague, based on the
consistent implementation of the Split Declaration," he said.
In a statement issued after a meeting between Croatian
President Franjo Tudjman and chairman of the Presidency of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegovic, in Split this August,
Tudjman pledged to do everything he could in order for indicted
Croats to voluntarily submit themselves or be extradited urgently
to the Tribunal in The Hague, and that Croatia would cooperate in
handing over documents to the Tribunal.
"Within that framework, the expectations of the United
States are clear … notwithstanding how much Serbia is
cooperating, how much Bosnia is cooperating, because the issue is
Croatia's relations with the United States, noone else's," Granic
said.
He said he had recalled that Croatia had requested certain
guarantees for trials without delay for its use if influence.
"We believe it is possible to find common ground," Granic
said, adding that common ground included guarantees of the United
States that the trials of these people would begin quickly.
"It is clear that we will continue the dialogue with the
United States, and we hope that US pressures that have been
especially important in the past several days will cease, not
only within the Monetary Fund, but also in other international
institutions, especially the Council of Europe," he said.
The United States has, through the International Monetary
Fund and World Bank, blocked loans for Croatia, through a
presidential statement, it sent to the Council of Europe a note
opening the possibility of extension of the UNTAES mandate in
case of the failure of the Croatian government to fulfil
obligations in the process of peaceful reintegration of the
Danubian area.
The American side, Granic said, had made it clear that
further steps taken by the United States towards Croatia would
directly depend on the consistent fulfilment of Croatia's
commitments in the peace process.
As regards the process of peaceful reintegration of the
Croatian Danubian area, Granic informed Albright about all steps
Croatia was taking, especially lately, "with a firm belief that
the process will end on time".
"This has been applauded by the US, but, obviously, with
expectations that everything that has been agreed on the level of
presidents, on the level of the government in full, will also be
implemented in the field," Granic said.
"We want this for us and for our own interest, and we
believe this is possible to accomplish and we are sure of it,"
Granic said.
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251056 MET sep 97