WASHINGTON, May 6 (Hina) - Croatia will receive US$56 million of the ex-Yugoslav Federation's foreign exchange reserves deposited in American banks as soon as it opens an account in Switzerland, the Croatian Ambassador to the US, Ivan
Grdesic, said in Washington Tuesday.
WASHINGTON, May 6 (Hina) - Croatia will receive US$56 million of the
ex-Yugoslav Federation's foreign exchange reserves deposited in
American banks as soon as it opens an account in Switzerland, the
Croatian Ambassador to the US, Ivan Grdesic, said in Washington
Tuesday. #L#
The US administration recently unfroze 225 million dollars of the
former Yugoslavia's central bank's foreign exchange reserves which
were frozen as part of sanctions against the Milosevic regime.
According to agreed succession percentages, Croatia is to have 23
percent of the funds, i.e. $56 million.
The Croatian government will open an account with the Bank for
International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, said Grdesic.
Croatia first opposed the unfreezing of the funds in an attempt to
pressurise Yugoslavia in disclosing the whereabouts of the
remaining funds envisaged for succession.
In line with the Agreement on Succession signed by successor
countries in Vienna in June 2001, some 600 million dollars were to
be divided among the successors. After the agreement was signed, it
came to light that some 90 percent of the funds were missing.
Grdesic said Croatia's odds of preventing the unfreezing of the
$225 million were low due to the wish of the US government to rid
itself of foreign assets, help the economic revival of the region
and send a message to investors that risks in doing business with
the region were not high.
But Croatia will not abandon its intention to establish the
whereabouts of the missing funds, which is why it continues to
refuse to ratify the Agreement on Succession.
(hina) lml