SARINIC: AGREEMENT WITH ISRAEL SYSTEMATICALLY PREPARED

ZAGREB, Aug 21 (Hina) - The agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations between Croatia and Israel has been systematically prepared by the governments of the two countries and is not unexpected, Croatian Presidential Chief of Staff Hrvoje Sarinic said Thursday evening after talks with an Israeli delegation in Budapest. "Despite the non-existence of diplomatic relations, the two countries have maintained intensive contacts in the economic, sports and cultural fields," Sarinic, who headed the Croatian delegation, told Croatian television. "Those relations have recently improved, so that today's agreement is not unexpected. It has been systematically prepared by the governments of the two countries," Sarinic stressed. Sarinic noted that it was a principle of Croatian foreign policy to establish good and friendly relations with most countries of the world. "We can particularly say that for the state of Israel whose importance and influence on the world political scene by far surpasses its size or the number of inhabitants, which is also the case with Croatia," he added. Sarinic said that the Croatian and Jewish people had had similar fates through history, struggling for their independence and state, in which they eventually succeeded. "The establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel should be considered as a great success of Croatian state policy," Sarinic concluded. (hina) vm 212232 MET aug 97