BOSNIAN SERBS CONTEST BORDER NEAR KOSTAJNICA

SARAJEVO, July 8 (Hina) - The final agreement on the border line between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina reached at a meeting of the interstate diplomatic commission in Zagreb was brought into question on Thursday when the Serb side in Bosnia insisted on the change of the already established frontier near Kostajnica on the Una river. A co-chairman of the Bosnian Ministerial Council, Svetozar Mihajlovic, on Thursday said in Sarajevo that Bosnian Serbs insisted on the exchange of territory between the two countries in that part where the border line intersected the Una river passing from one bank to the other. #L# The Ministerial Council discussed the Zagreb border agreement and concluded that the document could not be forwarded to Bosnia's Parliament for ratification due to Serb objections. "We would like that Una will be also a natural border line between Croatia and Bosnia when it becomes navigable," Mihajlovic said. He assessed that in case of the swap of territory all interested parties would do the same concessions. The other co-chairman of the Council, Haris Silajdzic, openly expressed opposition to Bosnian Serb demands. "We should be clear, it is about the demand to change the state borders. In case the establishment of natural border lines is requested, we shall never sign border agreements with neighbouring states," Silajdzic said. According to Silajdzic, the only acceptable solution is to sign this agreement forged by the interstate diplomatic commission and after that agreements on the exchange of small parts of territory may be possible if it is in the interest of both countries. Mihajlovic, however, insisted that all borders between republics in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ) had been administrative boundaries while state frontiers should be now established. We differ in the opinion whether we have a state border or not. I think we have the state border, Silajdzic responded to Mihajlovic in front of reporters. (hina) jn ms