Minister Krstičević attends U.S – Adriatic Charter ministers meeting in Montenegro

The Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krstičević attended the regular meeting of defence ministers of the U.S.- Adriatic Charter held in Budva, Montenegro on 13 and 14 November 2018, alongside the ministers of Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia Laura Cooper, and representatives of Slovenia and Serbia.

The meeting was held in two panels. The first panel was focussed on the security situation in southeast Europe and the joint efforts to upgrade the regional co-operation within A5 and the other panel discussed the Euro-Atlantic perspective of southeast Europe and the options to put it into practice, including the engagement of the Charter in NATO  activities ranging from crisis management to the building of defence capabilities, and also addressed the role of the Charter in the implementation of the Open Door Policy.

Minister Krstičević stated that the US-Adriatic Charter had a unique role in fostering co-operation among the countries of southeast Europe and offered an excellent framework for contributing to regional and global security.

“The participation of the U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis at the special meeting of the defence ministers of the U.S. –Adriatic Charter held in Zagreb in July was a strong message of support to the Charter members. Croatia welcomes the continued U.S: support to the security and stability in this area”.

Minister Krstičević also announced an international military exercise “Immediate Response 19“ to be conducted  in 2019  – the 10th anniversary of Croatia’s membership in NATO, with an objective of promoting regional stability and security and upgrading the interoperability among NATO members and partner countries.

The Minister also reminded that the U.S.-Adriatic Charter’s main goal since the inception in 2003 had been to integrate the aspirant countries of southehast Europe into NATO  through co-operation and mutual projects. “By developing joint capacities and capabilities and upgrading the interoperability of our armed forces the U.S. – Adriatic Charter offers excellent   tools to assist the candidate countries become NATO members, sharing the common responsibility for stability and security of southeast Europe and at the global level. Montenegro’s accession to NATO and the recent of accession talks with Macedonia proved that the Charger fulfilled its purpose”, said the Minister.

The Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković addressed the participants and emphasised that it was first hosting of the  U.S: Adriatic Charter by Montenegro as a new NATO member nation.

The Defence Minister of Montenegro Predrag Bošković, currently  chairing the U.S: Adriatic Charter, stressed that the meeting was a unique opportunity to discuss the joint regional response to the emerging security challenges.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia Laura Cooper, on her third visit to the region in the current year , shared her gladness over attending the U.S.-Adriatic Charter special ministers meeting in Zagreb alongside the Secretary of Defense James Mattis . Mrs Cooper reiterated Secretary Mattis’s message from Zagreb, stressing that the Initiative was successful and leading the countries into the international organisation which is of critical importance for global stabiity and for A5 initiative and NATO .

She also stressed that the U. S, supported the countries of southeast Europe and praised the engagement of members of the Croatian Armed Forces and of the armed forces of the U.S.-Adriatic Charter initiative in Afghanistan, in KFOR, in the mission to Iraq and NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence in Poland.

The ministers signed the Joint Statement  of the U.S. – Adriatic Charter, affirming the commitment to the continued integration of the countries of  southeast Europe into  the Euro-Atlantic organisations, which guarantees  peace and stability of Europe as a function of the correlation with the fundamental values with  the US-Adriatic Charter. They also confirmed the commitment to further strengthening of the regional defence co-operation in  support to the keeping of peace and stability of the region.

The U.S. –Adriatic Charter – the initiative launched  in 2003 by Albania, Croatia, Macedonia and the United States and later joined by Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina – is a regional security and defence initiative providing active support to the Euro-Atlantic path of the aspirant countries in southeast Europe as its basic goal. Serbia. Slovenia and Kosovo have attended the U.S.-Adriatic Charter as observers.

During the visit to Montenegro Minister  Krstičević met with the Croatian minority and with thechairman of the Croatian National Council Montenegro – the main association of the authentic Croatian minority in Donja Lastva, and visited Perast, the Island Gospe od Škrpjela, where he was welcomed by Mons. Srećko Majić  and the church known as the “Croatian Sixtine Chapel”.

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