Bush visit to boost Croatia's Balkan role

By Zoran Radosavljevic

ZAGREB (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush visits Croatia on Friday as the West seeks to strengthen NATO's presence in the Balkans around Serbia after Kosovo's independence.

Bush will spend almost two days in Zagreb after visiting Ukraine and attending a NATO summit in Bucharest, expected to yield an invitation to join the alliance for Croatia and possibly two more Balkan states, Macedonia and Albania.

Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said the length of Bush's stay showed particular importance Washington attached to the visit.

"President Bush is coming to celebrate what we expect will be Croatia's invitation (to join NATO) and to recognize the hard work Croatia has done," U.S. Ambassador Robert Bradtke told reporters in Zagreb on Tuesday.

"It should also show other countries in the region that if they do the hard work in economic, political and military reforms, the door to NATO is open," he said.

An EU diplomat with extensive knowledge of the region, said the visit had more important undertones.

"The NATO invite and the Bush visit are coordinated. This is not because the West really cares so much about Croatia, but because they are protectively creating a safety cordon around Serbia and potential instability there," the diplomat said.

Political analyst Zeljko Trkanjec said Washington obviously aimed to put most of Serbia's neighbors under NATO's umbrella.

"This will put Serbia under pressure to turn to the West and not Russia, and reduce possibilities for the spillover of any crisis," Trkanjec said.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February, reviving bitter anti-NATO feelings among Serbs. NATO bombed parts of Serbia in 1999 to try to halt ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.

PATH TO EU

Croatia hopes NATO could also boost its bid for European Union membership -- which Zagreb expects around 2011 -- as was the case with eight east European countries that joined the alliance in 2002 and the EU two years later.

"The visit of the U.S. president is an honor for every country, including Croatia. It will boost our image," said President Stjepan Mesic, who will host Bush and his wife Laura at a dinner in the presidential palace in Zagreb.

On Saturday morning, Bush will address the Croatian public at the historic St. Mark's square, which houses government and parliament buildings.

He will later have lunch with Mesic, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and their counterparts from Macedonia and Albania.