Diplomatic Diary: Albania, Croatia want quick NATO accession

22/07/2008

The parliament speakers from Albania and Croatia have requested a rapid accession protocol to NATO. Also in diplomatic news this week: Tina Kaidanow became US ambassador to Kosovo, and Italy confirmed support for Montenegro's EU bid.

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Albania and Croatia called for acceleration of their accession to NATO. Albanian Parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli and her Croatian counterpart, Luka Bebic, wrote to the US Congress and the 26 parliaments of the NATO-member countries Friday (July 18th) to ask for faster ratification of their countries' accession protocol. The two countries pledged to undertake substantive reforms to strengthen the rule of law.

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US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice named US Chargé d'Affaires in Pristina Tina Kaidanow the first US ambassador to Kosovo on Friday (July 18th), five months after the former Serbian province declared independence.

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Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic met on Saturday (July 19th) with his Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) counterpart, Sven Alkalaj, in the seaside town of Umag, Croatia. The two officials expressed readiness to co-operate in the settlement of outstanding issues, including those involving the territorial borders between the two countries.

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Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vowed his country's support for Montenegro's EU integration process during a meeting in Rome on Friday (July 18th) with Montenegrin counterpart Milo Djukanovic.

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Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic met with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Thursday (July 17th). They discussed the chances of launching a visa-free regime between the two countries. Also, "Moscow will support Serbia's call to the UN General Assembly to request the opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of the unilaterally declared independence [of Kosovo]," Lavrov said.

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Albanian President Bamir Topi and Macedonian counterpart Branko Crvenkovski reiterated on Thursday (July 17th) their resolve to intensify bilateral co-operation. Meeting in Durres, the two officials discussed joint energy, transport and telecommunications projects. They also touched on regional issues, including Macedonia's name dispute with Greece and recognition of Kosovo's independence.

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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in northern Cyprus on Friday (July 18th) to mark the anniversary of the arrival of Turkish troops on the northern part of the divided island on July 20th 1974. Erdogan, accompanied by six ministers, met with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, the prime minister of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; Ferdi Sabit Soyer and other high-ranking officials.

(Various sources 15/07/08-22/07/08)