UN SHOULD LEAVE PREVLAKA EARLY 1998 - CRO AMBASSADOR TO UN

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Hina) - Croatia's Ambassador to the United Nations Ivan Simonovic on Monday pointed out that Croatia's principal condition for the extension of UN's monitor mandate on Prevlaka (Croatia's southern-most tip bordering with the Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro) - to show once again that Prevlaka is a constituent part of the territory under Croatia's sovereign authority - has been successfully realized via the procedure by which a resolution on the extension of the UN monitors' mandate has been adopted, as well as with an explicit provision on the Security Council's support to the territorial integrity of the Republic of Croatia. The resolution on Prevlaka has been adopted as part of a Security Council discussion on the situation in Croatia. Ambassador Simonovic assessed that Croatia cannot agree with the evaluation that the situation in Croatia continues to represent a threat to international peace and security. The only threat to peace and security cannot be the situation in Croatia, Simonovic said, but the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's refusal to accept that the international border on Prevlaka is a reality in which an appropriate solution to protect the legitimate interest of security must be searched. Croatia temporarily accepts the presence of UN monitors, during another six-month period, in order to facilitate the reaching of a permanent solution agreement. This agreement will be acceptable for Croatia, Simonovic said, only if it takes into consideration the principle of inviolability of international borders, on which the United Nations stands, as well as peace and security in international relations. Once this principle is accepted, the security issue of the Boka Kotorska Bay and the Dubrovnik hinterland (Croatia's southern-most part) becomes technical and easy to settle. Croatia's Ambassador assessed that the mandate of the UN monitors on Prevlaka should end early next year. Croatia will be active in proposing appropriate solutions, Simonovic said, thus demonstrating its cooperativeness and concern for peace and security in the region. However, despite all good will, Croatia cannot accept UN's presence on its territory for an indeterminate time, he said, adding that he personally believed UN's presence will no longer be necessary after 15 January 1998. Until then, Ambassador Simonovic said, an agreement on the permanent demilitarization of an appropriate area on both sides of the border could easily be reached, on condition there is willingness to achieve it on the Yugoslav side as well. (hina) ha 142044 MET jul 97