PICULA ON OSCE, UNMOP MISSIONS

ZAGREB, Nov (Hina) - The Organisation for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) Mission to Croatia is a welcome partner and a witness to our efforts to strengthen our international position, however, we would like its mandate and the number of members to reflect the real situation in the country, Foreign Minister Tonino Picula said on Thursday. "The OSCE Mission is a welcome partner and a witness to what we do, however, its possible mandate and size in 2003 remain an issue," Picula said when asked to comment on the OSCE's latest report on Croatia's progress in fulfilling its obligations. "We advocate that the future mandate and the size of the mission reflect what we have managed to achieve over the past two years," Picula said. The Foreign Minister announced intensive contacts with Belgrade about the issue of the United Nations Mission of Observes in Prevlaka (UNMOP) mandate, which expires on January 15, 2002. "We will try to conduct intensive talks on the termination of the UNMOP mandate, but I do not want to speculate on whether we will manage to persuade the UN Secretary General, i.e. the Security Council, to discontinue the mission. This certainly will not be easy," Picula said. (hina) it sb