Croatian president praises Bush's encouragement on reforms

The Croatian President Stipe Mesic said on Friday that the US President George Bush had encouraged Croatia, Macedonia and Albania to carry out reforms necessary for NATO membership, after the three states were left out of the latest NATO expansion in Prague. Mr Mesic said on Thursday that Croatia was aware it was not yet ready for membership of the alliance because it had not reached all democratic and other required standards. He blamed the delay on Croatia's war of independence in the 1990s. Croatia is a member of the NATO Partnership for Peace programme, which is seen as a first step towards eventual full membership in the alliance. One of the most important and controversial issues for Croatia is cooperation with the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.