NO PROGRESS IN TALKS ON INHERITANCE OF EX-YUGOSLAVIA'S GOLD

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Hina) - Not even the eight meeting of governors of central banks of the countries established in the area of the former Yugoslavia produced any progress in settling the issue of the succession to the property of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), as representatives of the Yugoslav (Serbian/Montenegrin) national bank did not appear at the Washington meeting after they had failed to attend previous sessions as well. Governors - Peter Nicholl of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Marko Skreb of Croatia, Ljubomir Trpeski of Macedonia and France Arhar of Slovenia - discussed some important issues of the mutual interest during Monday's session held behind the closed doors in Washington. According to a statement, they particularly considered the succession to the property of the former Yugoslavia entrusted with the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS). It refers to the gold which the former Yugoslavia deposited with the BIS. When a procedure for the succession was launched eight years ago, that gold was worth 600 million dollars, but now its price may be about 400 million due to trends on the market. Following decisions of the international community, the BIS froze that property until the resolution of the problem how the countries- successors to the SFRY can share it. Governors of Bosnia, Croatian, Macedonian and Slovenian national banks, who are attending the annual assembly of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, held talks on the continuation of the bilateral cooperation with the BIS. (hina) ms