CRO-BOSNIAN RELATIONS MUSTN'T BE ENDANGERED BY CURRENT DISPUTES

SARAJEVO, Feb 24 (Hina) - Croatia's Ambassador to Bosnia- Herzegovina, Josip Vrbosic, has said Croatia and Bosnia have friendly and good neighbourly relations, asserting that current misunderstandings must not overshadow positive results achieved so far. Speaking at the panel "Krug 99", which gathers prominent Sarajevo intellectuals, Vrbosic said the Croatian government supported Bosnia's sovereignty and integrity and advocated such internal organisation which would ensure full equality of the country's three constituent peoples. Vrbosic said Croatia was interested in upcoming constitutional changes in the country, stressing that some issues, such as the establishment of a House of Peoples in the Bosnian Serb entity, remained open. The existing internal organisation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is based on the Dayton peace agreement, is not the best possible solution, he said, adding a formal revision of the agreement or a new peace conference on Bosnia are not expected. The Dayton agreement will most probably be amended and these amendments will first be caused by changes to the two entities' constitutions, he said. The best proof of Croatia's support for Bosnia-Herzegovina as a functional state is its having practically given up an agreement on special relations with the Croat-Muslim federation and its support for the country's central bodies of authority. Commenting on open issues between the two countries, such as the status of the southern Croatian port of Ploce, the so-called "oil dispute" and a recent meeting of Prime Minister Ivica Racan with Bosnian Croat leaders, Vrbosic said the existing problems created an unrealistic image of poor relations between the two countries. "Developed democracies have unresolved disputes as well," Vrbosic said adding this did not mean relations between Sarajevo and Zagreb were bad. (hina) rml