CROATIAN OFFICIAL RECEIVES RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR - STATEMENT

ZAGREB, Aug 8 (Hina) - A Croatian Deputy Foreign Minister, Ivo Sanader, on Friday received the Ambassador of Russian Federation in Zagreb, Meceslav Ivanovic Senkevic, at the Ambassador's request, the Croatian foreign ministry said in a statement. Sanader informed Ambassador Senkevic of the course and results of the meeting of Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Bosnia- Herzegovina's Presidency chairman, Alija Izetbegovic, held in Split on 6 August. Our estimation is that the meeting was held in the right moment, when the deadlock was clearly noticed in implementation of the peace process, and we hold that results of the meeting are very good, Sanader said. Sanader stressed the importance of a decision on establishment of the Cooperation Council between the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Cooperation Council between the Republic of Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, out of concrete conclusions, and added that the Split meeting gave a new incentive to the arrangement of overall Croat-Moslem relations. In regard to recent incidents, it was concluded that in all cases a thorough investigation should be conducted and perpetrators punished, but it must not be permitted in any way that individual incidents affect normalisation of the entire situation, Sanader said. With the aim of establishment of the permanent stability in the region, that is adjacent to the Republic of Croatia, the Split meeting had great importance, said Sanader and Ambassador Senkevic who stressed that the Russian Federation described very positively moves taken by Croatia, read the statement. Then Sanader notified the ambassador that the process of peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube river area, which will end on January 15 next year, was being successfully carried out, and that the signed agreement on education, that is in line with Council of Europe provisions, was one in a series of steps leading toward the full normalisation of civilian life and introduction of Croatian institutions. The normalisation of relations with Belgrade was proceeding also successfully, and a meeting of foreign ministers is due to be held after "the harmonisation of a package of bilateral agreements on which negotiations are being under way." Ambassador Senkevic portrayed as positive the role of the Republic of Croatia in the establishment of permanent and stable peace and a new international order in this part of Europe, read the statement at the end. (hina) jn mš 081549 MET aug 97