AP 10 Nov 94 17:49 EST V0034 The Associated Press ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -- Croatia and the United States have agreed to cooperate on defense issues, a Pentagon official said Thursday. The agreement is an "important step in our bilateral relationship," Joseph Kruzel, deputy assistant secretary of defense, said at the end of a one-day visit to Zagreb. Croatian Defense Minister Gojko Susak will travel to Washington for a signing ceremony on Nov. 29. Neither side gave details on the agreement. The United States brokered an alliance between Croatia and neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina in March, ending fighting over territory in central Bosnia. Croatia and Bosnia agreed to set up a single government to handle common affairs. Since then, relations between Croatia and the United States have improved. The two countries also have signed an economic cooperation agreement. Croatia seceded from Serb-dominated Yugoslavia in 1991, prompting a Serb minority rebellion. Croatia's Serbs captured and still hold a third of Croatia's territory.

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