NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Hina) - The mandate of UN military observers on the Prevlaka peninsula ends on Dec. 15 at the latest and its 27 observers will leave Croatia by the end of the year, according to a report UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan presented to the Security Council on Tuesday.
NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Hina) - The mandate of UN military observers on the
Prevlaka peninsula ends on Dec. 15 at the latest and its 27
observers will leave Croatia by the end of the year, according to a
report UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented to the Security
Council on Tuesday. #L#
After seven years, the departure will mark the end of the presence
of international peace-keepers on Prevlaka, a southern Croatian
peninsula bordering on Yugoslavia.
"I am convinced that the parties will be able, in the near future, to
narrow their remaining differences to the point where the presence
of UNMOP is no longer needed," Annan's report reads.
He explains his proposal to end the UN Mission of Observers on
Prevlaka (UNMOP) also with the fact that the area has remained calm
and stable for a long time.
As stated in the current Security Council resolution, the UNMOP
mandate may end before the expiry of the Dec. 15 deadline if Zagreb,
Belgrade and Podgorica reach an agreement in the meantime.
"It is my assessment that the closure of another chapter in the
tumultuous recent history of the Balkans is within reach, and that
Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are about to take
another step towards normal good-neighbourly relations," Annan
says in the report.
His optimism is based on the assessment that in negotiating a
solution to the Prevlaka issue, Croatia and Yugoslavia "share a
common approach on key aspects of such an agreement."
The UN Security Council could pass a decision on the termination of
UNMOP by the end of the week as the current mandate expires on Oct.
15.
(hina) ha