ZAGREB, April 23 (Hina) - Croatia will join NATO with the remaining members of the Vilnius Group -- Macedonia and Albania, the head of the Croatian Parliament's delegation for NATO, Kresimir Cosic, said on Friday.
ZAGREB, April 23 (Hina) - Croatia will join NATO with the remaining
members of the Vilnius Group -- Macedonia and Albania, the head of the
Croatian Parliament's delegation for NATO, Kresimir Cosic, said on
Friday.#L#
"Let's be realistic. Seven of the 10 members of the Vilnius Group
joined NATO in the first wave, and the remaining three countries will
most probably be admitted in the second round," Cosic told a press
conference in the Croatian Parliament building.
Cosic said that Croatia was in many aspects ahead of the two countries
and that the Alliance was aware of the special role Croatia was
playing in helping them meet the requirements for full membership.
"(The Alliance) recognises our aspiration for an individual approach,
but it also says that we are responsible not only for the situation in
the region but also for that kind of cooperation," he said.
Cosic said an exception could be made only if one of the countries was
found to be substantially lagging behind or if the three-country group
was not well balanced in meeting the set criteria.
"Croatia has always insisted that each country should be judged
individually and it will try to achieve this in the final declaration
of the NATO summit" due to take place in Istanbul in June, Cosic
said.
"We expect the text of the final declaration to underline the results
Croatia has achieved in its efforts to join NATO. That's not
unrealistic. We expect our efforts to be evaluated and underlined in a
special political declaration," Cosic said.
He said that NATO officials had expressed their concern over the
results of public opinion polls in Croatia showing that public support
for the country's admission to the Alliance was weakening. This was
interpreted as the result of poor contacts with the public and the
media.
(Hina) vm