INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WANTS UNTAES TROOPS TO STAY UNTIL OCT. 1

ZAGREB, June 9 (Hina) - The international community and the head of the UN Transitional Administration (UNTAES) in the Danube river region of eastern Croatia want the UNTAES mandate to be extended until October 1, a senior Croatian Foreign Ministry official said in Zagreb on Monday. "It is a well-known desire of the international community, and I would also say of (UN Transitional Administrator) General Klein, that the military component of UNTAES should be present until October 1, with a gradual troop pullout starting from now," the official said. He stressed Croatia's stance that the mandate of the UNTAES military component should end on July 15, 1997 and that elected local authorities should assume office. The Croatian official said that a final decision on the date of the expiry of the military mandate of UNTAES would be taken by the UN Security Council later this month. He emphasised that it was important to Croatia that the UN presence ended on January 15, 1998, after which Croatia was willing to accept a monitor mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) which would comprise between 120 and 150 monitors. (hina) vm mm 091340 MET jun 97