NATO REMAINS IN CHARGE OF MISSIONS IN BALKANS - ADMIRAL JOHNSON

SARAJEVO, Sept 9 (Hina) - The commander of NATO's Regional Headquarters Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH), US Admiral Gregory Johnson, on Tuesday said there was no indication that the European Union might take over the peace mission in Bosnia- Herzegovina from NATO. #L# At a press conference held during a one-day visit to Sarajevo, Johnson said there had not been any decision that NATO might transfer any of the peace missions in the Balkans to any other organisation. The defence ministers of France, Germany, and Austria at separate functions last week announced that the EU might take command over the Stabilisation Force in Bosnia during 2004 or at the start of 2005 at the latest. NATO has a very clear mandate in this region and its implementation is analysed every six months, Johnson said. He is the commander of AFSOUTH with its base in Naples and is directly in charge of operations in the Balkans. His visit to Bosnia is part of regular consultations and controls of the situation in the region where NATO is currently conducting an exercise with the aim of testing the possibility of rapid reaction in crisis situations. Johnson told journalists that the exercise was a clear warning to all those who think that problems can always be solved with force. He explained that NATO considered the security situation in this section of Europe as a regional issue because the situation in Kosovo in some way affects the situation in Bosnia. Commenting on the recent conflicts in Macedonia, Johnson said that this was a legal operation conducted by the Macedonian army and police in an attempt to stop criminal gangs. In this concrete case, he estimated that criminals were once again trying to portray themselves as freedom fighters. Johnson confirmed that NATO troops in Bosnia will continue to search for war crime suspects. He pointed out that the search would last as long as necessary to bring them to justice. (hina) sp ha