VIENNA, May 25 (Hina) - The head of a Croatian delegation which negotiated succession to the ex-Yugoslavia in Vienna over the past fortnight said he was satisfied with an agreement initialled to that effect on Friday. After several
years of obstruction from the Yugoslav side, concrete agreements are finally being reached that will contribute to the resolving of open issues among the five successor states, said Croatia's Bozo Marendic. "Besides, the agreement will provide Croatia with substantial funds, about $300 million," he added. Speaking about old foreign currency savings, one of the most disputed issues in the negotiations, Marendic said "this has to be settled in line with international law and legislation between depositors and banks." Talks on the issue will resume with the mediation of experts of the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements, he added. Reporters inquired ab
VIENNA, May 25 (Hina) - The head of a Croatian delegation which
negotiated succession to the ex-Yugoslavia in Vienna over the past
fortnight said he was satisfied with an agreement initialled to
that effect on Friday.
After several years of obstruction from the Yugoslav side, concrete
agreements are finally being reached that will contribute to the
resolving of open issues among the five successor states, said
Croatia's Bozo Marendic.
"Besides, the agreement will provide Croatia with substantial
funds, about $300 million," he added.
Speaking about old foreign currency savings, one of the most
disputed issues in the negotiations, Marendic said "this has to be
settled in line with international law and legislation between
depositors and banks." Talks on the issue will resume with the
mediation of experts of the Basel-based Bank for International
Settlements, he added.
Reporters inquired about a dispute in connection with Croatia's
request to gain insight at the Yugoslav National Bank into how the
former federation's foreign reserves were spent in the last 12
years. Yugoslavia turned the request down.
"We simply requested to learn about the fate of joint property from
the moment the former Yugoslavia (SFRY) broke up. Present-day
Yugoslavia (FRY) has reason to hesitate about granting (the
request)... the foremost being that for a time the (SFRY) National
Bank simultaneously operated as their (FRY's) new national bank,"
Marendic said.
He added Croatia would continue to insist. "It is not a dispute
between Croatia and Yugoslavia but a perfectly normal request," he
said.
Speaking about the division of diplomatic premises abroad,
Marendic said a joint commission of the five successors would
"establish the condition of certain buildings and their current
value before they are finally divided according to agreed
percentages."
A similar commission will be set up to establish the amount of joint
funds and what has to be done to obtain them. The commission will
tackle the former federation's reserves, which Belgrade says
amount to about $1 billion and do not include the $500 million of
joint property already divided in Basel.
(hina) ha