CROATIAN AMBASSADOR TO UN WRITES TO WASHINGTON POST

WASHINTON, Feb 3 (Hina) - The Croatian Ambassador to the UN, Mario Nobilo, today wrote to the Washington Post about their editorial of Jan 18. "Contrary to the views held by some, including speculation in The Washington Post editorial of January 18 (Another Balkan War?), Croatia did not decide to terminated the UNPROFOR mandate to pursue war with the local Serbs or their patrons in Belgrade," the letter said. "Our objectives are just the opposite," the letter said, stressing that the decision was "designed to reinvigorate the negotiating process and to reach a peaceful settlement" of the occupied territories. "If Croatia was indeed intent on reintegrating the occupied territories by force, it could have done so already," the letter said. "The departure of UNPROFOR will shift the total cost of Serbian occupation from the international community to the Belgrade government. The $1 billion per annum cost of maintaining UNPROFOR has become an "occupation fee" paid by UN member nations, including the United States, which itself contributes about $300 million to the total," the letter said. The letter suggested that "without having to maintain a 15,000-troop presence in Croatia, UNPROFOR can transfer resources to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they are badly needed." "We recognise that there are risks associated with our decision regarding UNPROFOR. (...) Mr. MIlosevic (Slobodan, Serbia's President) and his dependants in Croatia's occupied territories have used the United Nations and its brave soldiers as a buffer to reaching an expeditious settlement to a situation which could go on unsolved for years to come under the current circumstances. Croatia views such a stalemate as far more dangerous than taking a pragmatic, albeit dramatic, action which we are confident will result in an accelerated peace in the entire region of southeastern Europe," the letter concluded. (hina) mm as 031931 MET feb 95