CRO DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES COUNCIL OF EUROPE LEGAL AFFAIRS D

AFFAIRS D $ IRECTOR ZAGREB, Oct 7 (Hina) - Croatian Deputy Foreign Minister Ivo Sanader on Tuesday received Council of Europe legal affairs director Guy de Vel, the Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Sanader pointed out the Croatian government has been developing a very successful cooperation with Council of Europe bodies on many levels. The significance Croatia attaches to the Council, he added, is confirmed by the fact that Croatian President Franjo Tudjman is to head a Croatian delegation at the 9 and 10 October Council of Europe summit. De Vel welcomed Tudjman's presence at the summit. He was very pleased with Croatia's cooperation with the Council to date and was impressed with what has been accomplished to date in complying with obligations Croatia undertook upon admission into the Council of Europe. De Vel pointed out it was important that the Croatian parliament ratified a convention on the rights of minorities in September and has initiated the ratification of other Council conventions. Croatia accepts European standards following its own convictions which, Sanader pointed out, stem from Central and Western European civilizational achievements of which Croatia has always been a constituent part. No pressures in that sense are therefore necessary, he added. Croatia's deputy foreign minister acquainted de Vel with the steps the government has made as regards the course of peaceful reintegration of the Danube river region of eastern Croatia. These steps, Sanader said, confirmed Croatia's willingness to do what is necessary for the UNTAES mandate to terminate in due time and successfully. Sanader once again pointed out Croatia's devotion to the Washington and Dayton Peace Agreements. Admission into Euro-Atlantic integrations is one of Croatia's priorities, he stressed. (hina) ha 071803 MET oct 97