U.S. DEFENCE MINISTER VISITS ZUPANJA

ZUPANJA, Jan 3 (Hina) - U.S. Defence Minister William Perry visited the Sava pontoon bridge between Zupanja and Orasje some time before 2 pm today. The bridge is being used by the U.S. IFOR troops which are arriving in north-eastern parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina from Croatia. Perry was accompanied by the head of the U.S. force Joint Chiefs of Staff, John Shalikashvili and the NATO commander for Europe, George Joulwan. Perry, Shalikashvili and Joulwan arrived at the northern (Croatian) bank of the Sava river by helicopter at 1.45 pm. They were welcomed by U.S. IFOR officials and Colonel Steve Hawkins, the commander of the 16th engineering unit of the 1st U.S. Division, which had built the bridge. The U.S. defence minister and generals crossed the bridge to the Bosnian side and later talked with U.S. soldiers. They are expected to give statements after the visit. (hina) rm mm 031454 MET jan 96