UNTAES MANDATE TO BE EXTENDED FOR MAXIMUM THREE MONTHS - TUDJMAN

WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Hina) - Croatian President Franjo Tudjman on Friday rejected any extension of the UNTAES mandate in eastern Slavonia longer than three months. "We said a twelve-month extension was out of the question... but we could just possibly accept a three-month extension," Tudjman told reporters at the Croatian embassy in Washington, following talks with US President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore. The one-year mandate of the UN Temporary Administration in Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES) expires on January 15, 1997. UNTAES commander Gen. Jozef Schoups said earlier this week that the mandate ought to be extended for six months. Vice-President Al Gore made the same suggestion this afternoon, according to President Tudjman. "I answered that this would not be acceptable for the Croatian side - I think that a three-month extension will be sufficient to complete the mandate," Tudjman said, stressing that Croatia shouldered a substantial part of the costs of the presence of UN forces. "Also, Croatia has 80,000 Croat, Hungarian, Ruthenian and Slovak refugees to consider," he said. "It is morally and politically unacceptable that our people cannot return to their homes... because of the resistance of Serb extremists," he said. The issue of a possible extension of the UNTAES mandate would be settled jointly by the Croatian Government, Temporary Administrator Jacques Klein, the European Union and the United States, he said. "As before, we will make our constructive contribution to a permanent resolution of the crisis in the whole of former Yugoslavia and the full integration of this Croatian region," Tudjman said. He reiterated that Croatia was satisfied with the Temporary Administrator's work. (hina) as 021950 MET aug 96