FIRST DAY OF CROATIAN-BOSNIAN TALKS ENDS

VIENNA, Jan 4 (Hina) - The first day of talks between the delegations of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Vienna ended shortly after 17:00 hrs on Tuesday. The talks will resume on Wednesday morning at 09:00 hrs. The leaders of the delegations, Croatian Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister Mate Granic and Bosnian Premier Haris Silajdzic, met with international mediators Thorvald Stoltenberg and David Owen immediately after the talks. Granic and Silajdzic first talked privately for more than an hour and were later joined by other members of the two delegations. Speaking to reporters, both representatives said the talks were held in a "working and constructive atmosphere." The two delegations considered all open issues concerning Croats and Moslems in Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as relations between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. A member of the Croatian delegation told Hina that the talks mainly focused on cessation of hostilities. The two delegations agreed this afternoon that Mostar would be placed under European Union protectorate for the next two years, after which a durable solution would be sought. The two sides also raised the issues of prisoners-of-war and private property, and decided that they would be addressed separately. The two delegations agreed to reach a final solution to the gravest issues on Wednesday. Austrian Foreign Minister Alois Mock is to receive his Croatian counterpart Mate Granic later this evening. 041831 MET jan 94