HDZ LEADERSHIP HOLDS TALKS WITH ITALIAN MINORITY MP

ZAGREB, Dec 1 (Hina) - The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leadership on Monday held talks with Italian minority MP Furio Radin about his possible support to the HDZ to form the new government and to the likeliest premier-designate -- HDZ president Ivo Sanader. #L# "These were preliminary talks in which I outlined my vision of what the position of the Italian minority should be like as well as its proposals and demands," Radin told reporters after the talks with Sanader, HDZ vice president Jadranka Kosor, and HDZ Presidency member Vladimir Seks. Radin commended the fact that for the first time a potential premier-designate was holding talks with the representative of an ethnic minority. He said the Italian Union's main request was compliance with the Croatian-Italian agreement on ethnic minorities of 1996. Radin said he had been given an encouraging answer, adding that he had to notify the Italian Union and start talks with local authorities. The talks with the HDZ will resume in eight days, he said. "If our demands are met and if I have the support (of the constituents), I think we'll have no problem confirming Sanader as premier-designate," Radin said, adding that support to the new government would depend on its platform and the protection of ethnic minorities in general. (hina) ha sb