CONTACT GROUP MEMBERS LEAVE SARAJEVO FOR CONSULTATIONS

WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Hina) - Members of the Contact Group for Bosnia, whose task was to try and persuade Bosnian Serb leaders to accept the Contac Group Peace Plan, will return to their countries for consultations, State Department spokesperson Christine Shelly said yesterday. Pale's unwillingness to accept the Plan was the main "stumbling block" to the resumption of negotiations, she said. American, British and French Group members talked with Karadzic from the UN base in Sarajevo on Thursday and Friday. Seeing that the Bosnian Serbs were not ready for any step forward in talks, they decided to return home, she said. A number of shells were fired yesterday from Serb-occupied areas in Bosnia, drawing a response in kind from the Bosnian army, Shelly said, adding that the Department had received reports from the ground mentioning a much larger number of detonations than what appeared in UNPROFOR reports. "We do not know what the Serbs' motive was for this very serious violation of the cessation of hostilities and we deeply deplore these violations," Shelly said. (hina) jn as 281143 MET jan 95