ANNAN WON'T REQUEST EITHER END OR EXTENSION OF UNTAES MANDATE - GRANIC

GRANIC $ SAMOBOR, Oct 1 (Hina) - In a report on the UN Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem he is to submit to the Security Council this week, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will request neither the termination nor the extension of the UNTAES mandate, but will propose "another report in two months", Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic told members of the Croatian Association of Catholic Businessmen in Samobor on Wednesday. Granic assessed the goal of Annan's report is to retain the possibility of pressurizing Croatia to the effect of Croatia's doing much more in the peaceful reintegration of eastern Croatia. Annan will submit his report on the situation in the Danube river region of eastern Croatia most probably on Friday, said the foreign minister. The UNTAES military component will withdraw in line with an agreement, he added, while the UNTAES mandate in eastern Croatia terminates on 15 January 1998, as planned. Granic stressed he expects the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube region will be carried out successfully, and that the UNTAES mandate will end on time. The U.S. has remarks on the peaceful reintegration process, he said, since it believes there exists opposition to the implementation of the process on local level on the Croatian side. (hina) ha jn 012159 MET oct 97