PRESIDENT TUDJMAN RECEIVES US AMBASSADOR ALBRIGHT

ZAGREB, Jan 6 (Hina) - Croatian President Franjo Tudjman on Thursday received US ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine K. Albright, Assistant Secretary for Human Rights John Shattuck and US Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith, said a statement issued by the presidential office on Friday. Assessing the development of relations between the US and Croatia as good, President Tudjman said Croatia has always sought to establish close relations with the US, not only for the sake of the two million Croats living in the US but also because American democracy is a model for younger democracies, such as Croatia. Commenting on the situation in the UNPAs and the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina President Tudjman called for Security Council support to the draft solution for Bosnia-Herzegovina put forward within the framework of the Conference on former Yugoslavia. He also stressed that cooperation between the US, the EU and the UN is essential for putting a quick end to the war in the region. Noting that Croatia has taken a determined stand on the protection of human rights, President Tudjman expressed gratitude to Ms. Albright for visiting Vukovar. Speaking about the horrors she had seen in Vukovar, Ambassador Albright said the US would spare no effort to bring the perpetrators to justice. She expounded the US views on the solution to the situation in the UNPAs, stressing that the US supported the implementation of Resolution 871. Ambassador Albright stressed the importance of maintaining sanctions on Serbia and tying their lifting with the reintegration of the UNPAS in the legal order of Croatia. Commenting on the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ms. Albright noted that the US followed the Moslem-Croat conflict with great concern. She also underlined the problem of the delivery of relief aid to the suffering Bosnian people. "The US wish for peace, stability, territorial integrity and democracy in the region," stressed Ambassador Albright, adding that President Clinton's Partnership for Peace project would hopefully ensure peace and stability in central and eastern Europe and help integrate the region in the European order of democracy, peace and stability, market economy and respect for human rights. Ambassador Albright concluded by expressing the hope that the relations between the US and the Republic of Croatia will continue to develop. 071040 MET jan 94