MOSCOW INVITES PRESIDENT TUDJMAN FOR OFFICIAL VISIT TO RUSSIA

( Editorial: --> 7202 ) ZAGREB, Aug 31 (Hina) - Visiting Assistant Russian Foreign Minister Aleksandar Alekseyevich Avdeev on Monday handed Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic an invitation for Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to visit Moscow later this year. A statement from the Croatian Foreign Ministry said Tudjman's official visit to the Russian Federation would take place on November 3. Granic thanked Avdeev for the invitation and emphasised that the meeting between Tudjman and Russian President Boris Yeltsin would be the high point in Croatian-Russian relations up to now. The Croatian Foreign Minister assessed bilateral relations as good and emphasised that their continued strengthening contributed to stability in south-eastern Europe. Both sides expressed satisfaction with cooperation in multilateral organisations. During Monday's working meeting in the Croatian Foreign Ministry the two delegations coordinated a political declaration expected to be signed during the meeting between Presidents Tudjman and Yeltsin. Granic said it was vital for both sides to intensify efforts for more bilateral agreements to be signed during President Tudjman's visit to Russia. Both delegations concluded there was large room for a further strengthening of cooperation, particularly in the fields of economics and culture. Granic informed Avdeev of the course of the peace process and once again thanked the Russian Federation for its balanced approach during the crisis in the region of the former Yugoslavia. He repeated the determination of the Croatian Government to actively participate in the consistent implementation of the Dayton peace accords. Avdeev was also received later in the day by Croatia's Deputy Foreign Minister Ivo Sanader and they discussed overall Croatian- Russian relations. (Hina) mbr jn 312250 MET aug 98