BILDT VISITS OSIJEK

OSIJEK, March 28 (Hina) - The European Union peace coordinator for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Carl Bildt, visited the eastern Croatian city of Osijek on Thursday where he met for talks with Croatian army Lt. Gen. Djuro Decak. Bildt told reporters after the closed-door meeting that the purpose of his visit was to gather information on the implementation of the Erdut peace agreement. He said that he was encouraged by the approach to the problem and by preparations that had been made so far for the peaceful reintegration of the remaining occupied areas into Croatia. Decak expressed satisfaction with the reintegration process, stressing that Croatia would make every effort to complete the process successfully. Bildt was also received by Ivica Vrkic, head of the government office for restoration of Croatian authority in the occupied areas of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem. Vrkic said that teams of Croatian and Serb experts met for the first time on Thursday at the Nemetin-Sarvas crossing point to discuss the opening of the Vinkovic-Sid railway line. Stressing that Croatia was willing to protect the property of all its citizens and to allow all those Serbs who had left to return, Vrkic said that in the peace process it was necessary to "preserve both people and natural resources" to bring living conditions in the occupied areas back to normal as soon as possible. But he warned that the still unresolved issue of missing persons and continued demands by Serb extremists to annex the occupied Croatian areas to Serbia could present problems in the process of peaceful reintegration. Noting that there were signs of reconciliation in the occupied areas, Bildt said that the return of all refugees and coexistence were a key to the peace in the whole region. Bildt said that the completion of the peaceful reintegration process was important not only for Croatia but for general stability of the entire area of former Yugoslavia and the Balkans. (hina) vm 282213 MET mar 96