YU GOVT ISSUES STATEMENT ON DRAFT AGREEMENT FOR PREVLAKA

( Editorial: --> 7091 ) BELGRADE, July 11 (Hina) - The Yugoslav Government has prepared a draft Yugoslav-Croatian agreement on a "lasting solution to the disputed territorial issue of Prevlaka". A statement the government's communications office issued on Friday does not outline the contents of the draft agreement. The statement only points out that the draft represents the "continuity of Yugoslavia's constructive policy to resolve all disputed issues peacefully, on the basis of principled justness, good neighbourly relations and equal respect of the countries' interests, starting from the general rules of international law on border withdrawal and especially from exerting effective jurisdiction on land and sea." Even though the statement points out that the resolution of the Prevlaka issue will contribute to advancing Croatian-Yugoslav relations, the Yugoslav government persists in speaking of Prevlaka, Croatia's southernmost tip bordering with the Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro, as of a "disputed territorial issue", which is contrary to the terminology used in an agreement on the normalisation of relations between the two countries. This has aroused suspicions that the draft agreement may not be acceptable for Croatia. (hina) ha 112013 MET jul 98