THIRD NEGOTIATING ROUND ON SUCCESSION TO EX-YU OPENS IN BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS, April 9 (Hina) - The third negotiating round on succession to the former Yugoslav federation began in Brussels on Monday. The negotiations should last three days and are expected to yield the first concrete results. According to the head of Croatia's negotiating team, Bozo Marendic, now that Yugoslavia has stopped obstructing the succession talks, the five successor states (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Yugoslavia, and Macedonia) and the international community feel inclined and willing to expedite a successful division of the former federation's property. Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic for years hampered the negotiations maintaining Yugoslavia was the only successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), which broke up ten years ago. International mediator Arthur Watts froze the negotiations in early 1999 due to international sanctions against Yugoslavia. They stayed frozen until Milosevic was deposed late last year. The Croatian team believes the reaching during the current negotiating round of an agreement on the division of property in the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements would be a good result. According to announcements from the former negotiations, held in Ljubljana in February, an agreement is also possible on the division of archive material, and the first part of SFRY property abroad, namely 13 buildings. The negotiations are held behind closed doors. The first results will be known on Wednesday. (hina) ha