CHRISTOPHER BELIEVES TUDJMAN IS MAKING A MISTAKE

WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (Hina) - US Secretary of State Warren Christopher said yesterday Croatian President Franjo Tudjman was mistaken in his decision to end the UNPROFOR mandate in Croatia after it expired on March 31. "I think President Tudjman is making a serious mistake, a fundamental miscalculation in asking for the withdrawal of UNPROFOR. I think he'll be sorry if he doesn't retreat from that," Christopher told a session of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Christopher said he was sure President Tudjman had some "hope and expectation that he can work out something with Serbian President Milosevic" until March 31. "We're not at all confident that he (Tudjman) can do so. He may have what we regard as unrealistic expectations of the performance of his armed forces if UNPROFOR withdraws," he added. Emphasising that the situation in Croatia was very serious, Christopher said the US was encouraging Croatia to reconsider its demand for UNPROFOR's pullout because it believed the UNPROFOR presence had prevented war from spreading throughout Croatia. A senior US official said in Washington yesterday that the US supported the Contact Group peace plan according to which Serbia would recognize all states that emerged out of the former Yugoslavia and in return would have sanctions against it temporarily suspended. The official said the plan would be presented to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in a few days. The Washington Times carried a report on the plan and said the US would demand that Serbia not interfere in the conflict in Croatia and that European countries not grant any loans to Belgrade. (hina) jn vm 151231 MET feb 95