CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ENDS VISIT TO U.N. HEADQUARTERS

NEW YORK, Nov 17 (Hina) - The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Croatia, Mate Granic, met with UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali at the end of his two-day working visit to New York on Tuesday. During his stay in New York, Minister Granic held separate talks with most of the ambassadors of Security Council members states, with the President of the Council, as well as with the UN Secretary-General. The main emphasis during the talks was laid on the Croatian President's peace initiative, particularly its part dealing with the peaceful settlement of the crisis in the UN Protected Areas and overall reintegration of those area into the Republic of Croatia. Minister Granic said that UN Security Council Resolution 871 was a crucial document in the implementation of which Croatia saw the shortest way out of the crisis. He requested that the Security Council and UNPROFOR show more resoluteness in the implementation of the provisions of this resolution, emphasizing that Croatian authority should be restored in the so-called pink zones as soon as possible. During the talks a great interest was shown in Minister Granic's recent visit to Sarajevo and the talks with Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic. Great concern was shown for the worsening humanitarian situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia expressed readiness to extend full assistance in establishing safe humanitarian corridors to the affected areas in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Minister Granic said that all agreements concerning the organization of Bosnia-Herzegovina should be observed. He pointed to the need to effect a firm cease-fire, and said that the consistent observing of all norms of international humanitarian and war laws were imperative. Croatia expressed willingness to act as a stabilizing factor in the crisis-affected area of the former Yugoslavia and in cooperation with the international community to take adequate peace steps. Croatia stressed that no overall solution could call into question its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that it was necessary to consistently implement all relevant Security Council resolutions. 171753 MET nov 93