RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO CROATIA ON HIS VISIT TO EAST SLAVONIA, BARAN

BARAN $ JA ZAGREB, April 9 (Hina) - Russian Ambassador to Croatia, Leonid Kerestedzhiyants, sent a statement to the Hina Croatian news agency today on speculations about his recent visit to eastern Slavonia and Baranja, eastern Croatia. Kerestedzhiyants said that "in some Croatian newspapers there have been lately incorrect interpretations of my tour in eastern Slavonia and Baranja". As regards these "incorrect interpretations" he added that his tour referred to exclusively the visit to the Russian battalion and attendance to celebrations to mark 50th anniversary of the victory in World War II at the place where there are the mass graves of 2,500 Red Army soldiers who were buried there when they died at Batina and Ilok. He said Russian diplomats visited traditionally memorials and graves abroad on May 9. Thus, Russian officials had visited the graves near Batina and Ilok in previous 49 years. In the last three years celebrations had been held within a mission of the Russian battalion deployed there, and it has been planned to do the same this year. He said "no joint actions or 'feasts' have been scheduled between representatives of the Russian battalion and local authorities either in Batina or in Ilok. The information is wrong that officials of Russian Embassy in Belgrade are expected to participate in the celebrations this year". "I regard as normal that anything that refers to the Russian battalion and its activities as part of the UN operation is within the scope of responsibilities of Russian Embassy in Zagreb," Kerestedzhiyants said, adding that he responsibly stated that "this battalion reliably controls the Croatian border along the Danube". "It could not occur to me to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Victory at the ruins of Vukovar," he said. "Finally, we are morally obliged to pay last respects to our countrymen who died in battles for the liberation of Europe from Fascism, and this is not a theme for political manipulations," he concluded. (hina) mms 091542 MET apr 95