TALKS ON CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES RESUME WITHOUT TWO INFLUENTIAL PARTIES

SARAJEVO, March 20 (Hina) - Talks on constitutional changes in Bosnia-Herzegovina resumed on Wednesday, however without representatives of two influential parties - the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and the Party of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) from the Bosnian Serb entity. #L# The talks were interrupted on Tuesday evening, several hours after High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch told reporters agreement had been reached on 80 percent of open issues. He also said that the remaining 20 percent could cause the failure of the talks since they concerned crucial problems. Explaining the reason why he left the talks, SNSD president Milorad Dodik said he did not want to take part in attempts to abolish Republika Srpska. "The HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) and Kresimir Zubak have maximalist demands and their sole goal is the abolishment of Republika Srpska," Dodik told Banja Luka's "Nezavisne novine". Quoting an unnamed participant in the talks, the Sarajevo daily "Dnevni avaz" of Wednesday claims High Representative Petritsch will eventually have to exercise his powers and impose a solution. (hina) sb rml