CROATIAN AND BOSNIAN FEDERATION OFFICIALS DISCUSS PLOCE, NEUM

ZAGREB, Sept 16 (Hina) - Delegations and groups of experts of Croatia and the Bosnian Federation met behind closed doors in Zagreb on Tuesday at the instigation of US mediators to discuss agreements on the port of Ploce and Neum. Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Ljerka Mintas-Hodak told reporters after the talks that they discussed expansion of the agreements signed by the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia on access to the Adriatic Sea, use of the port of Ploce and transit through Neum municipality. We agreed with the members of the Federation delegation and the US experts, who will help with their experience and knowledge accomplish the best solutions with regard to the continuation of talks on the basis of the signed agreements, that the agreements should be built upon in the spirit of the Dayton and Washington accords, she said. The working groups will continue working tomorrow to identify the disputed areas in which the agreements do not provide satisfactory solutions, on the basis of which they will propose appropriate solutions, Mintas-Hodak said. Federation government minister Neven Tomic said that the talks were aimed at seeking solutions to the problem of Bosnia- Herzegovina's access to the sea and passage through Neum in line with the conclusions of a recent meeting in Split. The starting point was the Washington and Dayton agreements and relevant agreements signed in cooperation with US experts. We expect to have by September 30 a draft agreement that will solve the said questions, Tomic said. He noted that after the Washington and Dayton accords a number of things had arisen which had to be dealt with, such as the need to improve traffic links through Neum between Ploce and the Bosnian border, and the use of the port of Ploce which would mean faster economic progress for both the port and the Federation. Federation government minister Hasan Muratovic described the agreement as very complex. He said that the issue was more of an economic and legal nature than political. Muratovic said that the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina was now different than at the time when the Washington agreement had been concluded, considering the existence of the Serb republic. All aspects of the Washington agreement have not been implemented and new solutions should be sought in that spirit. I am confident that with the assistance of US experts we will solve these issues by September 30. Croatian Economy Minister Nenad Porges stressed that Croatia's sovereignty over any part of its territory was not challenged in any form. He said that the starting point for the continuation of talks should be sought in the already reached provisional agreements on Neum and Ploce. The transitional agreements we refer to provide that the possibility of a third party joining those agreements should be regulated by a separate agreement, and that will be Croatia's starting position for further talks, Porges said. Galbraith said that the talks also involved US experts, led by Ambassador Louis Sella, which would contribute to the completion of talks and signing of the agreement by September 30 in conformity with the agreement of the Croatian and Bosnian presidents. (hina) vm 162345 MET sep 97