U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE VISITS BANJA LUKA

BANJA LUKA, 1 Jun (Hina) - The U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Saturday held talks with Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic. The talks lasted almost an hour and a half, much longer than the protocol allowed. After the talks, neither the U.S. State Secretary nor the Republika Srpska President gave any statements for the press and a press conference, announced earlier, was cancelled. #L# Only State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns appeared before reporters gathered in front of the Presidential palace in Banja Luka. The U.S. Secretary of State had made it clear to the Serb side that the United States wanted to see the Dayton agreement successfully implemented and that it expected full cooperation on the Serb part. The U.S.A. expected from Serbs to meet their commitments, especially those concerning the trial of war crime suspects, Burns said. The Serb side had to be more cooperative in securing the return of refugees, Burns sad, warning that the process must not be prevented nor can people who want to return to their homes be discriminated against because of their ethnic origin. Full freedom of movement was also one of the undefferable obligations the Serb side had to fulfil, Burns said. Should the Serbs show cooperation, they could count on considerable financial support by the international community and the United States, Burns said, adding that the Serb side had so far not answered to the commitments it had taken over. Only full cooperation in the implementation of the Dayton agreement could bring the improvement of relations with the United States, the State Department spokesman said. (hina) rm 012055 MET jun 97