CROATIA AND ISRAEL TO ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

ZAGREB, Aug 21 (Hina) - Croatian Presidential Chief of Staff Hrvoje Sarinic and Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Eytan Bentsur met in Budapest on Thursday to discuss establishment of full diplomatic relations between Croatia and Israel. The following is the full text of a joint communique released after the meeting: "Mr. Eytan Bentsur, Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and Mr. Hrvoje Sarinic, Head of the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia, headed delegations in discussions on the issue of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the State of Israel and the Republic of Croatia. The two delegations have issued their statements: Croatian statement The new, free and democratic Croatia, known for its strong antifascist and resistance movement during the Second World War and whose President was an active antifascist partisan general utterly denounce the nazifascist crimes of the holocaust and the genocide of the Jewish people in many countries in Europe, including in Croatia. Therefore, on behalf of the people and the government of Croatia we express to the people of Israel and the government of the State of Israel our apologies and regrets for the crimes committed against the Jewish people during the nazi period by the kvisling regime (ustashe). Furthermore, we hereby condemn and deplore those acts perpetrated by the Croatian ustashe regime of that time. In the spirit of the above said and in order to avoid any further misunderstanding with regard to the book "Wilderness of historical reality" (Bespuca), an amended version which speaks for itself has been published. Fascism, racial hatred, xenophobia and anti-Semitism are abhorrent and are condemned by the democratic government and people of the Republic of Croatia. Israeli statement The Croatian statement has been welcomed by the Israeli delegation. Israel follows with great interest the developments in independent Croatia and the importance which the people of Croatia today attach to values of freedom and democracy as well as peaceful relations with her neighbours. Both sides have expressed their willingness to establish full diplomatic relations and to develop co-operation in all spheres of activity to the benefit of both countries and their people. Further to this meeting, an agreement for the establishment of full diplomatic relations between the State of Israel and the Republic of Croatia will be signed by the governments not later than September 1997." (hina) vm 212003 MET aug 97