NATO'S EXPANSION TO EAST INEVITABLE - ANTALYA'S CONFERENCE

ZAGREB, Oct 13 (Hina) - A two-day conference on security and cooperation in Europe, organized by Turkey's Atlantic Council in Antalya, pointed that it was necessary that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization spread toward the east, the Croatian House of County chairwoman Katica Ivanisevic said in Zagreb on Sunday after her return from Turkey. The NATO's expansion to central and southeastern European countries topped the agenda of the seventh Antalya conference held under Turkish Parliament's sponsorship, Ivanisevic said. The aim of the conference was to see in which countries the NATO can spread as well as to consider the speed and consequences of the extension. Ivanisevic said that at the conference Croatia had conveyed the view that by its political and military campaigns the country had contributed to stabilization in the region. Croatia was also ready to accept commitments it would have as a partner of the NATO, she added. "We supported the stance that there would be no permanent peace, stability and security not only in this part of Europe but in the entire continent, if countries in the region did not accept relations of equality and normalization of relations and if they were not integrated in Europe's security institutions," she added. (hina) mš 131510 MET oct 96