HOLBROOKE & GELBARD INSIST ON FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF DAYTON DEAL

( Editorial: --> 3631 ) SARAJEVO, May 13 (Hina) - The United States opposes any possibility of changing the Dayton agreement and asks from all interested parties to implement the agreement in full, special US envoy Robert Gelbard said in Sarajevo on Wednesday. Gelbard gave this statement at Sarajevo airport after the talks he and Richard Holbrooke held with Bosnia's highest state officials. We cannot and will not in any way accept the ideas on the so-called decantonisation of the country or the establishment of a third entity, Gelbard said during his talks with the Croat representative in Bosnia's three-member presidency, Kresimir Zubak. The United States will continue to support the Federation as established on the basis of the Dayton agreement, he added. Richard Holbrooke said that greater progress had been made in the past nine months in the implementation of the peace agreement than in the past year and a half. However, there are still some serious problems which should be solved soon, he said. Cooperation between the sides in Bosnia-Herzegovina does not meet our expectations, Holbrooke said adding that additional efforts had to be made in establishing joint bodies of authority and making the economic system functional. Holbrooke described as disturbing the failure of Bosnian Croat officials to show up at the Brussels donors' conference. He said he understood that they had to attend the funeral of Croatian Defence Minister Gojko Susak, but added that their absence could also be interpreted as a lack of cooperation. At today's talks Zubak pledged that he and his colleagues would continue to support the Dayton agreement. Ambassador Gelbard will return here in two weeks so that work in that field can be continued, Holbrooke said. Zubak described today's talks as "short and constructive", adding the Croat side had been asked to show its readiness to implement the peace agreement. There is no doubt that the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) of Bosnia-Herzegovina and its officials will work on implementing the peace agreement, he added. Holbrooke said he asked the Chairman of the Bosnian Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, to accelerate the establishment of better contacts with the Serbian side, especially with Belgrade authorities. The US mediators conveyed to Izetbegovic the Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's wish for more frequent contacts, especially in economy. The Bosniak side has been especially requested to engage in a speedier return of Serbs, particularly to Sarajevo, Holbrooke said. Unofficially, it is said that talks Holbrooke and Gelbard had with Izetbegovic were very hard, although Izetbegovic's advisor on foreign policy Mirza Hajric maintained that the visit of the US mediators "was a reason for satisfaction" and represented "support for keeping up the current pace". (hina) rm/mrb 131753 MET may 98