NEGOTIATIONS ON SUCCESSION TO EX-YUGOSLAVIA FINISH IN LJUBLJANA

LJUBLJANA, Feb 23 (Hina) - Three-day-long negotiations which delegations of the five countries-successors to the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) held in Ljubljana, ended on Friday. Negotiators did not manage to reach final agreement but they conducted the talks in a much better atmosphere compared to their previous meetings. An international mediator in the succession negotiations, Sir Arthur Watts, assessed that they made great progress, and announced first concrete agreements for a meeting, scheduled on 9-11 March in Brussels. The first issues to be solved are the division of archives, gold and stocks deposited with the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the start of a process of division of the former federation's real estate abroad such as embassies and consulates. I must say that this meeting was not crucial and that we have no basic agreement about which I could inform you. However, I feel that we have made greater progress at this session than at any previous meeting, Watts said at a news conference in the Slovene capital. He commended the negotiators of all the concerning countries for their constructive conduct and readiness to reach the resolution as soon as possible. (hina) ms