US-CROATIAN RELATIONS ON OUTSTANDING RISE

ZAGREB, Jan 13 (Hina) - Presidents Franjo Tudjman and Bill Clinton noted on Saturday evening that the relations between Croatia and USA were being on the outstanding rise, a spokeswoman for Croatian President, Natasa Rajakovic, said after the talks between the Croatian and US delegations. The Zagreb airport talks revolved around three groups of issues including the implementation of the Basic Agreement on the peaceful reintegration of Croatian Danubian areas, the implementation of the Dayton deals in Bosnia-Herzegovina with the focus of attention on the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and bilateral ties with the particular stress on economic issues. Concerning the issue of the peaceful reintegration of eastern Slavonia, Baranja and western Sirmium, US President told Tudjman that a Belgian battalion would be a pillar of the entire operation aimed at carrying out the Erdut-Zagreb deal. President Tudjman stressed that it was important to implement the deal on the peaceful reintegration speedily, and added that it was the most important issue to Croatia at the moment. President Clinton gave the full support to Croatian demands and pledged that he would do so in the future. 'USA is very interested that the peace reintegration of those areas into the Republic of Croatia take place and that all who used to live there come back,' a White House spokesman Michael McCurry said. US President said that on Monday UN Security Council would pass a resolution on the implementation of the Erdut-Zagreb agreement and that afterwards a retired US general, Jacques Klein, would assume the office of the head of the transitional administration. Commenting on the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina Clinton said that the Federation served as a cornerstone of the entire peace process. They also discussed the situation in Mostar, and the US side proposed to arbitrate disputable issues in Mostar. Croatian President accepted the proposal. The discussion on the US-Croatian bilateral relations was mostly dedicated to economic issues, including preparations for a treaty on cancelling double taxation. Clinton said there were no obstacles for signing such treaty soon. The White House spokesman said that President Clinton had come with a message that "following very long war and suffering of peoples on the Balkans, now all have a chance to build lasting peace." Mc Curry added that USA would be committed to the process of establishing peace. 'The US delegation admires the hospitality of the Croatian people and the Croatian Government. We have the excellent cooperation which facilitates the implementation of the solutions agreed on, and therefore, we are very grateful for this,' McCurry said. 132135 MET jan 96