GELBARD: U.S. WANTS TO KEEP ITS TROOPS IN THE REGION

( Editorial: --> 4425 ) SARAJEVO, Jan 14 (Hina) - All three sides in Bosnia-Herzegovina have to be prompter in complying with their commitments, US special envoy for the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement Robert Gelbard said in Sarajevo Wednesday. It is the price of Washington's decision to keep its troops in Bosnia even after the end of the NATO-led Stabilisation Force's current mandate, Gelbard added. He said President Bill Clinton's decision to keep US troops in Bosnia was a clear sign of the US determination to keep its presence in the region. We expect all three sides in Bosnia, as well as Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to comply with their commitments from the Dayton agreement, the special envoy said. Nobody should doubt the US determination to assist in the establishment of an integral and democratic Bosnia-Herzegovina composed of two multi-ethnic entities, Gelbard added. He reiterated that international High Representative Carlos Westendorp would make necessary and binding decisions in instances when Bosnia's three sides fail to agree on open issues. Earlier today, Gelbard held talks on the situation in the Croat- Moslem Bosnian Federation with Bosnian Presidency members Alija Izetbegovic and Kresimir Zubak. Their associates were not present, which testifies to the importance of the meeting. The special envoy said the US was concerned about the rhetoric Bosnian Croat and Bosniak-Moslem representatives had been using lately, and demanded that it stop. Izetbegovic and Zubak agreed to continue with constructive cooperation and to demand the same of their colleagues, Gelbard said, adding the situation in the Bosnian Federation was of crucial importance to the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement. According to Gelbard, the priorities for resolving the situation in Bosnia in the near future would be the reorganisation of the police and the return of refugees. The special envoy hoped the Bosnian Serb Republic would this weekend have a new prime minister in Mladen Ivanic, proposed by Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic. Gelbard once again urged that war crimes suspects voluntarily surrender to the Hague tribunal. On the contrary, he said, other measures were not to be excluded. Gelbard said Croatia's cooperation in this matter had enabled the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to prove its impartiality, when it released some of the suspects who had voluntarily surrendered after charges against them proved to be unfounded. (hina) ha mm 141820 MET jan 98