First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić 27 February in Rome attended the Transatlantic Dinner of EU, NATO, Macedonian and Swiss foreign ministers. The conference saw the participation of 34 countries and 23 foreign ministers, including US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was on his first European tour, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, and NATO Secretary General Fogh Rasmussen.
The talks focused on Afghanistan, North Africa, Middle East peace process and the situation in Syria.
Pusić spoke about Southeast Europe, hopeful that that part of Europe would not “drop off the radar” of its western allies, notably the EU and NATO. She said Kerry’s visit to the region would be of great importance, which the state secretary concurred with.
Talking about the Middle East peace process, the participants agreed time was high time to find a solution based on two states.
As regards Syria, the participants discussed the need to stop the bloodshed in that country and how to reach a consensus between the warring parties. “There are different views on who these parties are. Is it the opposition in general? Is the current opposition representative enough? If it is parts of the existent regime, which parts?” Pusić asked, adding that the issue was important for Europe as Syria is our wider neighbourhood. “For Croatia in particular, as geographically we are positioned in such a way that Syria is our national, not just a wider European neighbourhood. What goes on there certainly has an impact on Croatia as well,” Pusić said.
Ashton came to Rome from talks with the Iranian side in Kazakhstan. “We are all hopeful that agreement will be reached with the Iranian side, as that country is crucial for the stabilization of that part of the globe,” Pusić concluded.