CROATIA'S FOREIGN MINISTER SATISFIED WITH VISIT TO LONDON

LONDON, March 12 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic met his British counterpart Malcolm Rifkind in London on Wednesday to discuss bilateral issues and Croatia's bid to enter Euro-Atlantic integration processes. Great Britain believes that Croatia should not be restrained in its effort to get closer to European institutions because other southeastern European countries make slower progress in the right direction, Rifkind told reporters after the talks. Rifkind described the relations between the two countries as very good and said he was amazed at the progress Croatia had made in efforts to realise its aspirations, particularly in the economic field, which he thought was crucial for Croatia's getting closer to the community of European states. The British Foreign Secretary said that there were still problems in the region, of which Croatia was part, but added that as part of a regional approach each country should be considered separately on the basis of progress it had made. Asked whether regional cooperation was a condition for Croatia's integration into European institutions, Rifkind said that every form of cooperation between Croatia and the countries of former Yugoslavia should be welcomed, but that he understood that Croatia's strategic goal was to establish links with Europe. The closeness of relations with the rest of Europe should primarily be determined by events in Croatia itself. Britain is aware of the fact that Croatia wants to become a full participant in a wide spectrum of European institutions and it will work on it that the European Union and other organisations accept Croatia, he said. Granic said that the British side expressed full support for Croatian efforts to complete the peaceful reintegration of the UN-administered Danube region and showed understanding for Croatian views towards problems in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Croatia raised a number of objections regarding the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague, including the unacceptability of issuing subpoenas to Croatian government officials, a lack of balance in indictments and a complete failure to press charges for crimes committed over Bosnian Croats, primarily by Bosnian Moslems. Recapitulating his visit to London, Granic said that the most important fact was that Britain "has softened" its stance on the previously "undifferentiated" regional approach to the successor states of former Yugoslavia. (hina) vm mm 121938 MET mar 97