CRO GOVT. FULLY COMMITTED TO ITS OBLIGATIONS IN DANUBE AREA - SIMONOVIC

SIMONOVIC WASHINGTON, June 27 (Hina) - Croatian Ambassador to the United Nations, Ivan Simonovic, on Friday reiterated that his Government was fully committed to its obligations in the process of reintegration of the Croatian Danube area. "I should like to reiterate that the Croatian Government is fully committed to its obligations in respect of the Danube region, and will continue to cooperate with the international community in the consolidation of peace and stability there," Simunovic wrote in a letter forwarded to the UN Security Council's President, Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov. "My Government believes that the Security-General's exit strategy can now be clearly reflected in an operational context in the upcoming resolution, especially in regard to the military component. The situation in the region will also be strengthened if the Council gives support to the newly elected civilian bodies there, with the view to have the bodies assume their lawful responsibilities in full as quickly as possible, the letter read. "Transparency and accountability are two key elements for maintaining stability in the region," it added. Simonovic wrote that "the Croatian Government is of the view that the United Nations, in cooperation with the Croatian authorities, has successfully achieved the goals set out in the relevant documents, and can begin its progressive disengagement from the Danube region of Croatia." "The success of UNTAES mandate, reflected by the documents program in particular, can now be maintained by the newly elected and constituted local authorities and monitored by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)," he wrote in regard to a decision on the OSCE expanded mission in Croatia, which should completely take over the monitoring of the return of refugees and displaced persons and the conduct toward minorities in the beginning of 1998, after UNTAES left the area. "The new OSCE mandate in Croatia fully satisfies the long term monitoring objective of the Basic Agreement (S/1995/951), and resolution 1079 (1996),and strengthens the ability of the United Nations to exit the region by January 15, 1998, consistent with the time table envisioned by the Security-General in his report to the Security Council of June 23 (S/1997/487)," the Croatian Ambassador added. (hina) jn mš 271936 MET jun 97