ANKARA, Jun 19 (Hina) - The cooperation between Croatia and Turkey helped in concluding the Washington and Dayton Agreements, contributed to ending the Croat-Moslem conflict in Bosnia- Herzegovina and created conditions for restoring
peace in the region, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman said after meeting his Turkish counterpart Suleyman Demirel in Ankara on Wednesday.
ANKARA, Jun 19 (Hina) - The cooperation between Croatia and Turkey
helped in concluding the Washington and Dayton Agreements,
contributed to ending the Croat-Moslem conflict in Bosnia-
Herzegovina and created conditions for restoring peace in the
region, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman said after meeting his
Turkish counterpart Suleyman Demirel in Ankara on Wednesday. #L#
"Turkey is our bridge to countries in central Asia and the
Islamic world," Tudjman said.
"Since the establishment of independent Croatia, our relations
with Turkey have prospered in every respect, particularly as
regards the resolution of the Bosnian crisis," Tudjman said, noting
that he and Demirel were in complete agreement on the Bosnia
issue.
"There are certain difficulties in the implementation of the
Washington and Dayton Accords, but they can be overcome," Tudjman
said.
"Cooperation between Croatia and Turkey will be of great help
in this respect."
President Demirel, who returned from a two-day visit to Bosnia
on Tuesday, emphasised the need to restore peace to the war-ravaged
region.
"President Tudjman has made an important contribution to
restoring peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and we are going to help in
this process," Demirel said.
"All the sides are responsible for achieving a durable peace
and preventing further bloodshed," he said.
"We are aware of the importance of the Bosnian Federation - we
are going to to help breathe life into the Federation and encourage
the implementation of the Dayton Agreements," Demirel concluded.
Foreign Ministers Mate Granic of Croatia and Emre Gonensay of
Turkey today signed bilateral agreements on tourism, culture and
education, scientific and technical cooperation, as well as a
Protocol on Bilateral and Technical Cooperation.
Earlier in the day, the military delegations of the two
countries signed an agreement on military cooperation.
"Today's talks have paid much attention to trade cooperation,
namely trilateral contracts between Croatia, Turkey and Bosnia-
Herzegovina for projects in the Bosnian Federation," Minister
Granic said.
"Turkey's controlled involvement has been very important in
strengthening the Federation," he said.
"In dealing with problems that have cropped up in the
establishment of the Bosnian Federation, the two countries have
agreed to maintain permanent contact at the highest level," he
said.
He noted that Turkey supported Croatia's efforts to join the
Euro-Atlantic integrations.
President Tudjman today also met Turkish Prime Minister Mesut
Yilmaz and attended a formal dinner at the Presidential Palace.
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