US Ambassador: Agreement With USA is Not Exclusive

The agreement on the legal status of US forces is not a secret. The USA and Croatia have negotiated it for 2 years, said the US ambassador.

ZAGREB, CROATIA – The agreement on the legal status of American forces in Croatia is neither exclusive, nor secret, because the US has similar one with hundreds of countries, nor does it threaten Croatia’s sovereignty, said on Thursday the US ambassador to Croatia, Robert Bradtke, on Croatian Radio. 

There is no secrecy over the agreement because the USA and Croatia have negotiated it for over two years, and the agreement was signed before the visit of American President George W. Bush in Croatia, Bradtke said.

We have always thought that it should have been made public and we agreed with the Croatian cabinet that the best time would be at the presentation of the agreement in the Croatian parliament, said the ambassador.

The agreement very clearly says that, in case of violation of the Croatian law, the members of the American forces will respond for their crime. Therefore it is not an agreement on immunity, Bradtke added.

He also said that the USA has similar technical-legal agreements with almost a hundred countries, and all the members of NATO are among them, and even come countries in south east Europe.

The agreement does not imply giving up sovereignty or any privileges for American soldiers. It only dictates precise conditions for the temporary arrival of American forces with the permission of the Croatian cabinet, due to training and military collaboration, the ambassador concluded.