US AMBASSADOR GIVES STATEMENT TO PRESS UPON ARRIVAL IN ZAGREB

( Editorial: --> 2191 ) ZAGREB, Jan 3 (Hina) - The completion of the UNTAES mandate and the takeover of control over the whole Croatian territory will be a historic moment for Croatia and a crucial test, US Ambassador to Croatia William Montgomery told reporters in Zagreb on Saturday. "The better the process of reintegration of the Danubian area develops in the next several months, the faster will Croatia realise its goals and become a full member of the union of western countries," Montgomery said in a statement he read in Croatian. After decades of authoritarian rule, war ravaging and horrors from the recent past, "the Croatian people have a chance to take up a position in Euro-Atlantic institutions," where they rightfully belong, Montgomery said. "The road to these institutions is clear. It includes the realisation of total democracy, the establishment of an economy completely founded on principles of the free market, the fulfilment of all commitments assumed by the signing of the Dayton Agreement, and the establishment of good relations with neighbouring countries, as France and Germany had done after World War II," Montgomery stressed. The United States, as well as him, would be Croatia's active partners on its way towards western institutions and would cooperate with the Croatian people and government in the strengthening of relations between Croatia and the united States. (hina) lm 031504 MET jan 98