CROATIA AND RUSSIA EXTEND THE VALIDITY OF 22 AGREEMENTS

( Editorial: --> 3945 ) ZAGREB, Jan 12 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic received on Monday the Russian Federation's Assistant Foreign Minister Nikolay Afanasyevski, who is visiting Zagreb for regular consultations between the two foreign ministries. The two officials expressed satisfaction with the status of bilateral relations and emphasised that there were further possibilities in their strengthening, the Croatian Foreign Affairs Ministry said. Minister Granic and Assistant Minister Afanasyevski, as a representative of the Russian Federation government, signed a protocol on continuing the validity of 22 bilateral agreements. Assistant Foreign Minister Josip Paro led the Croatian side in a continuation of consultations, where total relations were examined in detail and it was stressed that it was important to continue dialogue on all levels. Satisfaction was expressed with the successful end of the UNTAES mission, while also examined were multilateral issues in regards to the security structure of Europe in the next century. (Hina) mm mb 122152 MET jan 98