"I hope that NATO too will acknowledge (Croatia's) full cooperation with the Hague tribunal," the Croatian minister said after her talks with the alliance's Secretary-General.
In this context she added that she expected that the pace of Croatia's integration with the European Union will have an impact on the speed of the country's association with NATO.
According to her, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that the pace of Croatia's admission to the alliance would depend on Zagreb's fulfillment of the membership criteria.
Regarding political criteria, NATO set the same criteria which the EU has for Croatia. Earlier this week the European bloc decided to launch membership talks with Croatia, acknowledging that Zagreb has met requirements for the start of the talks.
An official of the U.S. State Department, Kurt Volker, has recently said in Brussels that the next wave of the alliance's enlargement would not happen before 2008, and that members of the U.S.-Adriatic Charter -- Croatia, Macedonia and Albania -- were not ready to join NATO. He also indicated that Ukraine could be included in the package of the next countries candidates for NATO membership.
After the talks in Brussels today, the Croatian minister said that the alliance had not yet made any decision on the next wave of enlargement
Minister Grabar-Kitarovic delivered Scheffer the fourth annual Membership Action Plan covering 2005 and 2006.
She said he had told her that Croatia's budgetary spending on the defence had come close to standards set by NATO and that additional efforts should be made on the structure of budgetary expenditure.
The talks also revolved around the engagement of Croatian forces in peace missions in the world. The Croatian parliament recently decided to allow an increase in the number of Croatian contingent members from the current 50 to 150 troops.
Croatia is also considering the possibility of offering assistance to Iraq through services in institution building in that country and treatment of ill children, but there was no mention of military presence, the Croatian minister said.
In Brussels, Grabar-Kitarovic also held talks with the U.S. Ambassador to NATO headquarters Victoria Nuland and Eurocontrol Director Victor Aguado.