CROATIA'S DEFENCE MINISTER COMMENTS ON MILITARY ACCORD WITH TURKEY

TURKEY $ ANKARA, June 19 (Hina) - Croatian Defence Minister Gojko Susak said in Ankara on Wednesday that the agreement on military cooperation between Croatia and Turkey had more elements than any similar agreement which Croatia had signed. Susak said that the agreement had even more substance than the one signed with the United States and noted that it was signed after the lifting on the arms embargo. The military cooperation agreement with Turkey was one of a series of agreements that Croatia was in the process of signing in a bid to join NATO's Partnership for Peace program, he said. Susak said that he agreed with Turkish military officials on the training of Bosnian Croat HVO officers in Turkey together with officers of the Bosnian Moslem-Croat Federation Army and, if necessary, Croatian Army officers as well. The two sides also agreed on an exchange of ammunition and teams of experts, he added. Croatian Army Chief of Staff Gen. Zvonimir Cervenko said that the agreement included technical cooperation in the manufacture of arms and equipment. Cervenko announced that a group of Turkish officers would attend as observers an exercise by the Croatian Army 1st Guards Brigade that would be conducted under a US programme. (hina) vm 192208 MET jun 96