BOSNIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ON THREE-DAY VISIT TO U.S., CANADA

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Hina) - Bosnian Foreign Minister Jadranko Prlic said in Washington on Monday that by the middle of next month the United States would grant a USD 600 million loan over a period of three years for the reconstruction of Bosnia-Herzegovina. "The US Congress has already prepared a decision. We have been given assurances that it would be approved before a donor conference of the World Bank and the European Union in Brussels on April 12-13," he said. Prlic, currently on a three-day visit to the US and Canada, had met US Secretary of Trade Ron Brown and was scheduled to meet Presidential National Security Adviser Anthony Lake, Undersecretary of State Strobe Talbott, and Assistant Secretaries of State for European affairs and human rights Jonh Kornblum and John Shattuck. Prlic would also meet World Bank officials. The World Bank had announced about ten days ago that it would grant Bosnia-Herzegovina a USD 450 million reconstruction loan over a period of four years. Prlic said that all major obstacles to the functioning of the Bosnian Croat-Moslem Federation had been removed. "Prospects for overcoming differencies within the Federation are greater than ever because the most important decisions have been made. Results have to be achieved by the end of the month or before the celebration of the Federation's second anniversary that will take place in Bonn on March 28," he said. Prlic said that failure to carry out the decision on withdrawal of all foreign troops from Bosnia-Herzegovina would be fatal for the peace process. "Relevant structures claim that there are no more foreign troops in the country," he added. (hina) vm jn 261320 MET mar 96