U.S. EXPECTS COMPLIANCE WITH DISARMAMENT COMMITMENTS

WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Hina) - The US administration assessed on Wednesday that the signatories to the Dayton peace agreement would meet most of the commitments on arms reduction in the region. Under the Vienna agreement on disarmament, the second stage of disarmament of the Dayton signatory countries should be completed by October 31. Should there be any delays, it could only mean that the process of arms destruction has not been fully implemented, a senior administration official said in Washington. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the arms that should be destroyed had been identified and separated, but that the destruction process was slower because of the time and financial resources required for that. We should achieve full compliance in a relatively short period of time, he said. (hina) vm 160923 MET oct 97