GRANIC RECEIVES FRENCH ASSISTANT FOREIGN MINISTER

ZAGREB, 3 March (Hina) - The Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic on Monday received the French Assistant Foreign Minister, Paul Poudade, a statement from the Foreign Ministry said. #L# Granic informed Poudade about measures the Croatian government has been taking recently concerning the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danubian area, and which have been judged positive by the international community. The successful implementation of the elections is a precondition for the completion of the UNTAES mandate, after which Croatia can turn completely to its internal economic development and its getting closer to Central European and Euro-Atlantic integration processes, Granic stressed. Croatia is interested in building good bilateral relations with all countries in the wider region, including South-East European countries, which has been confirmed by recent meetings. However, Croatia is not ready to accept its being connected to those countries, Granic said, reiterating that Croatia favours integration into Central European and Euro-Atlantic integration processes on an individual basis, starting from a country's achieved level of political and economic development. Croatia greets decisive measures of the Bosnian Croat leadership, but it also demands that the Bosniac side fulfill its obligations concerning the stabilisation of the situation in Mostar and further strengthening of the Federation, Granic stressed, confirming that Croatia favours the building of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state made of two entities and three constituent peoples and in line with the Washington and Dayton agreements. Both officials agreed that Croatia and France have friendly relations and that they are improving their overall political and economic relations. There is enough room for the further strengthening of those relations, they said. (hina) rm jn 031801 MET mar 97