NATO WILL NOT LEAVE BOSNIA - SOLANA

SARAJEVO, Nov 2 (Hina) - The NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana, Thursday said the international community would retain, in any case, its armed force in Bosnia-Herzegovina after the expiry of the present mandate of the IFOR. The NATO would not leave Bosnia-Herzegovina. Military experts would discuss possibilities of our presence in the country next year, and a concrete decision on the matter could be expected soon, he told a news conference at the Sarajevo airport. Solana announced that an important meeting on this issue was convened for next Monday at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. He expressed confidence that all IFOR troop-contributing countries would take part in a new military mission in Bosnia. Asked whether a new mandate of the international armed force would include the search for war crimes suspects, Solana replied it was up to the U.N. Security Council. The IFOR troops arrived in Bosnia with the mandate the U.N. Security Council gave them. If new troops also should be deployed under a U.N.S.C. mandate, than its member-countries should decide on the mandate, Solana told journalists. Solana, along with the commander of NATO troops in Europe, General George Joulwan, and a newly-appointed IFOR commander General William Crouch, Thursday met all three members Bosnia- Herzegovina's presidency. The NATO Secretary-General described the meeting as positive. He said the presidency members, Alija Izetbegovic, Kresimir Zubak and Momcilo Krajisnik had confirmed they were ready to fulfill their commitments completely under the Dayton peace accords. They confirmed that they would stimulate the establishment of the joint bodies of the authority and cooperate with each other, Solana said adding that the presidency members could count on the international support only if they cooperated together. (hina) mš 071915 MET nov 96