CRO. PRESIDENT MEETS YUGOSLAV COUNTERPART AT DAVOS FORUM - EXT.

DAVOS, Jan 28 (Hina) - Croatian President Stipe Mesic met his Yugoslav counterpart Vojislav Kostunica on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Sunday, sources from President Mesic's entourage said.#L# The Croatian side said the meeting addressed issues which need further discussion. Kostunica said Zagreb-Belgrade relations were crucial for the stability of Southeast Europe, namely the territory of the former Yugoslav federation. The two presidents pointed to the need of simplifying the visa regime and re-appointing ambassadors to the two capitals. The Serb side sees those as practical steps which could help in the further normalisation of Croatian-Yugoslav relations. The meeting also addressed the prosecution of war crimes, said a Croatian official who wanted to remain anonymous. President Mesic pointed to the need of individualising guilt in order to eliminate the possibility of holding any one nation in the region in collective liability. According to Kostunica, the international community's insistence on an immediate establishment of cooperation with UN's war crimes tribunal in The Hague was detrimental to Serbia's incumbent authorities. Yugoslavia is willing to cooperate with time, he said. Discussing the situation in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, President Mesic said Croats and Serbs there must accept Bosnia as their homeland and take part in its democratic processes. Official stances from Zagreb and Belgrade should encourage them in the process, he said. At the end of the meeting, Kostunica proposed a trilateral Yugoslavia-Bosnia-Croatia summit, which Mesic accepted in principle. (hina) ha