Hungary wants NATO to extend to Croatia an invitation to join the Alliance, on the occasion of the Bucharest Summit in April, said the Hungarian Minister of Defense, Imre Szekeres, on Friday, according to AFP.
"Hungary supports without reservation any plans of inviting Zabreb to join NATO", Szekeres stated, after the meeting in Zagreb with his Croatian homologue, Branko Vukelici, according to Hina News Agency. "We consider that Zagreb has fulfilled all the criteria for adhesion and Hungary will spare no efforts to get this invitation extended at the Bucharest NATO Summit, held in 2-4 April", he said.
Hungary is a NATO member since 1999, and Croatia wishes to join the Alliance. Together with Albania and Macedonia, Croatia is one of three Balkan countries candidates for NATO membership that might be invited to join NATO at the Bucharest Summit.
The NATO Exterior Ministers are yet to decide which of the three countries will receive an invitation to attend the next Brussels reunion on March. The favorite is considered to be Croatia, but nothing was decided so far.
The Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader offered assurances in January that his country "will do everything in its powers" on the time left until the Summit to receive the adhesion invitation.
According to a recent poll, carried out at the beginning of February, most of the Croatians (52%) want their country to gain NATO membership.
(Source: Newsin)
