LATEST NEGOTIATIONS ON SUCCESSION FAIL BECAUSE OF FRY - CRO OFFICIAL

ZAGREB, Nov 13 (Hina) - The latest round of negotiations on succession to the former Yugoslavia failed because the current Yugoslavia continues to reject an international proposal suggesting the division of the former state's property, a Croatian official said on Friday. Drafting a report to the Council for the Implementation of the Dayton (peace) Agreement, international mediator for succession issues Arthur Watts this week visited Belgrade, Sarajevo, and Zagreb, capitals of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia respectively. Previously he visited Ljubljana and Skopje, capitals of Slovenia and Macedonia. Watts concluded after the latest negotiating round the successor states held the same standpoints expressed during previous talks, held last spring, when representatives, bar FRY's, agreed to an international draft for the division of former Yugoslav property. To facilitate reaching an agreement, last spring Watts suggested a mini-agreement which, as a first step, covered less disputed issues, such as archives, pensions, and citizenship. Following the failure to reach an agreement on that occasion, Watts now stated the mini-agreement proposal was no longer current. A solution consisting in an agreement may still be reached if the successor states want so, Watts said in Sarajevo on Thursday, adding an arbitration solution from the outside would perhaps not be the best solution. According to Bozo Marendic, head of the Croatian government's Office for Succession, who met Watts today, "the Croatian side wants the resolution of succession problems, and will even support international arbitration in the matter if another solution won't be possible." The Council for the Implementation of the Dayton Agreement will convene in Madrid in mid-December and may decide whether the succession issue will be resolved through arbitration. (hina) ha