MONTENEGRO WELCOMES CROATIA'S INITIATIVE ON PREVLAKA

( Editorial: --> 1840 ) PODGORICA, June 17 (Hina) - Montenegro on Wednesday welcomed Zagreb's latest initiative concerning a draft agreement between Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on solving the issue of security on the Prevlaka peninsula. The Croatian-Montenegrin border runs through Prevlaka, which is Croatia's southernmost tip. Last week, the Croatian Foreign Minister presented the draft agreement to the Yugoslav Ambassador to Croatia Veljko Knezevic. Croatia proposes that the issue of permanent security in the region be solved through its demilitarisation. The Montenegrin Foreign Minister Branko Perovic, who possesses a copy of the draft agreement, said that "Montenegro welcomes the initiative which came at a time when there was a lack of initiative on the Yugoslav part". "We especially welcome the motives behind the initiative and, according to the text, those are good neighbourly relations and economic needs and needs of the local population, especially those of the Dubrovnik region and its hinterland. Unfortunately, we now have to persuade the federal organs so that this question could be solved exactly the way Croats have proposed," Perovic said. The Zagreb initiative offers solutions which Montenegro has already proposed, in its own document, to the federal Yugoslav government, Perovic said. (hina) jn rml/bag 171450 MET jun 98