CROATIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES OUTGOING U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY

ZAGREB, March 1 (Hina) - Croatian President Franjo Tudjman on Friday received the outgoing Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, who was accompanied by the head of his cabinet, Julian Harston, and Political Adviser Jack Greenberg, a Presidential Office statement said. The talks focused on current issues related to the implementation of the Basic Agreement on Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem, and the Dayton peace accord. The President stressed that in interpreting the present circumstances in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, United Nations officials, as well as representatives of the international community in general, often forgot that their underlying cause was greater-Serbian aggression. The President expressed confidence that the implementation of the peace agreements was the only possible way out of the crisis for all parties and that, despite occasional difficulties and obstacles, the peace process would be completed successfuly. Both sides expressed satisfaction with concrete efforts undertaken by General Jacques Klein aimed at the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danubian area, and agreed that its expedient implementation was necessary to avoid any attempt to delay it. Also dicussed was the Prevlaka issue, and the President said that the area was undoubtedly an integral part of Croatian territory but that the Croatian authorities were willing to agree to its demilitarization as part of the overall normalization of Croatian-Serbian relations. Annan thanked the President for Croatia's active cooperation with the United Nations, expressing confidence that it would continue within newly-developed geopolitical circumstances. The talks were also attended by Foreign Affairs Adviser Zeljko Matic, Deputy Chief of Staff Vesna Skare-Ozbolt, Head of the President's Cabinet Gordan Radin and Press Secretary Natasa Rajakovic, the statement concluded. (hina) vm 011341 MET mar 96