JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE BY TUDJMAN, GORE (HIGHLIGHTS)

COPENHAGEN, March 12 (Hina) - Following are some highlights from a joint press conference held by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and US Vice-President Al Gore this morning in Copenhagen. A brief version of the press conference was released this morning. "Croatia will propose to the United Nations a new agreement on the deployment of special forces to monitor Croatia's borders and supervise the peace process," Tudjman summed up the results of today's talks. The US has pledged to assist Croatia in restoring its sovereignty over the whole of its territory, Gore said, adding that the US ambassador to the UN, Madeleine Albright, had already started consultations on a new mandate. "As for the results of today's talks, President Tudjman's statement speaks for itself. The present UNPROFOR mandate will expire on the 31st of March, as President Tudjman announced in January. We have agreed ... that instead of a deadline for UNPROFOR's withdrawal, the US will start relevant initiatives at the Security Council which would result in the passage of a new resolution reducing the number of UN troops in the so-called "Krajina" and providing for the deployment of detachments at points along Croatia's borders with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. Asked what would happen if no new mandate was arranged before March 31, Gore expressed hope that the new arrangement would be reached before that date. "But if it isn't, there will be a transition period during which UNPROFOR will be allowed to stay where it is while we look for new solutions. We hope that such a transition period won't be necessary. In any case, we don't expect it to take a long time, but we haven't set any deadlines," Gore said. "President Tudjman has shown great vision by opting for the continuation of efforts to reach a political agreement," Gore said. He expressed pleasure that Tudjman would visit Washington this week to attend the celebration of the first anniversary of the Moslem-Croat Federation and to continue talks. Tudjman said his statement did not mean that Croatia would reverse its decision regarding the expiry of the UNPROFOR mandate on March 31. "We need a new agreement with the Security Council on new international forces," Tudjman said. "At least twenty heads of state and government attending this conference told me they were concerned about a possible escalation of war in the area because of Croatia's decision. So, Croatia is ready to seek a solution, in cooperation with the important international factors and the Security Council, for the peaceful reintegration of the occupied areas into Croatia's legal system," Tudjman said. He expressed gratitude to Gore and other US representatives for their efforts to find such a solution. (hina) jn as 121931 MET mar 95