NEWLY-APPOINTED BRITISH AMBASSADOR VISITS EASTERN CROATIA

OSIJEK, Sept 22 (Hina) - Osijek County prefect Branimir Glavas received the newly-appointed British ambassador to Croatia, Colin Andrew Munroe, in Osijek on Monday. During the talks, the British diplomat was mostly interested in the situation in the UN-administered Danube river region of eastern Croatia. Glavas said that relations between Croats and Serbs in the area were strengthening despite some difficulties. However, Glavas said that "UNTAES often raises problems of Serbs which they themselves never raise," because the UN Transitional Administration "actually wants to extend its mandate past January 15," which he described as unnecessary. Munroe said that it often takes some time for relations among people to normalise after wars, citing the case of France and Germany which took 25 years to normalise their relations after WW2. Munroe said he believed that for that reason the UNTAES mandate could be extended. Later in the day, the British ambassador was received by Ivan Krstanovic, director of the Centre for the Reconstruction and Development of the Danube region in Vukovar. Munroe said after the closed-door meeting that the successful completion of the UNTAES mandate was one of the most important issues for the international community. (hina) vm jn 221712 MET sep 97