Deputy Minister Klisović attends meeting of US-Adriatic Charter

Deputy Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Joško Klisović headed the Croatian delegation at a meeting of the US-Adriatic Charter held 15 December in Tirana

Deputy Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Joško Klisović headed the Croatian delegation at a meeting of the US-Adriatic Charter held 15 December in Tirana. The meeting saw the participation of member states (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia and the US) as well as the observers Kosovo and Serbia, and was opened by the host, Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati.

The meeting discussed the current political situation and Euro-Atlantic trends in Southeast Europe, with an emphasis on the activities NATO-aspiring Charter member states are implementing on their path to membership. It reiterated the messages from the Wales NATO summit as well as the readiness for continued cooperation and mutual support, both bilaterally and in the Charter format. The participants also discussed future engagement in regional and international projects, notably those pertaining to the international community’s continued presence in Afghanistan.

Klisović said that Croatia supported the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the SEE countries, underlining the Charter’s importance in strengthening regional cooperation as a guarantee of peace, security and prosperity. He said there were still challenges to developing good relations in the region that needed to be taken seriously and responded to, recalling the release of war criminal Vojislav Šešelj and his public appearances full of hate speech and warmongering, calling for the governments of the participating countries to clearly and publicly condemn such and any similar rhetoric that has a negative impact on the level of regional cooperation that has been achieved.  

Given that the member states did not reach a consensus on Kosovo’s application for membership, no communique has been adopted.

The meeting marked the end of Albania’s year-long chairmanship of the Charter, which on 1 January 2015 is to be taken over by Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

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