Monday, 29 August 1995
Volume 2, Issue 167


REGIONAL NEWS
-------------

**RELIGIOUS CONFERENCE COUPLES WARRING COUNTRIES**
  Meanwhile church leaders from the Serbian Orthodox Church and
  the Croatian Catholic Church issued their first joint
  statement specifically condemning ethnic cleansing.  The
  Serbian Orthodox and Croatian Roman Catholic Churches are
  condemning ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia.

  The declaration was issued at the end of an ecumenical
  conference  in Hungary, which organizers said brought the two
  churches together for the first time since fighting began in
  1991.  The statement said different ethnic and religious
  groups should live together peacefully and that religion
  shouldn't be used to justify war.  But some conference
  delegates said they weren't able to talk about concrete
  problems.  Marto Zovkic is a Catholic priest.

  "We can talk trinity, Christ, gospel, weather, health but not
  the real issue of Bosnian war."

  Bosnia's Muslims weren't invited to the meeting because
  organizers said they might have caused too much tension.
  Karoly Toth is a retired bishop in the Hungarian Reformed
  Church.

  "We didn't know how the Christian churches will behave dealing
  with very sensitive issues.  Let us not run until we learn to
  walk means we have to try first to be together as Christians."

  But Toth said Muslims might join Christians in future meetings
  where more detailed negotiations would be held.  Conference
  participants insist this meeting has moved the former
  Yugoslavia one step closer to peace.  They said it's
  remarkable the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Croatian Roman
  Catholic Church actually signed a common declaration,
  especially when it condemns ethnic cleansing. --David Fink


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  conditions are subject to change without notice.  For further
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  Some portions of the news provided by special agreement with
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Wednesday, 30 August 1995
Volume 2, Issue 168


REGIONAL NEWS
-------------

**HUNGARIANS HAGGLE OVER CABINET POST**
  Hungary's Socialist Prime Minister Gyula Horn on Tuesday
  abandoned plans to name a trade union boss deputy prime
  minister after pressure from his liberal allies the Alliance
  of Free Democrats, or SZDSZ.  However, this is still not
  enough to satisfy the SZDSZ.  Horn told a morning TV show he
  gave up his plan to name Sandor Nagy, the leader of the
  national union, MSZOSZ, as deputy prime minister because tthe
  appointment would've required changing the constitution.  This
  would have needed the support of his alliance partner, support
  which was not forthcoming.  Horn said instead he wants Nagy as
  industry minister.  But the Alliance of Free Democrats is
  digging in its heels and maintaining a threat to quit the
  coalition if Nagy is appointed to the cabinet, even as trade
  minister.  SZDSZ is opposed to Nagy's appointment because the
  party fears he would dilute the power of Finance Minister
  Lajos Bokros, the author of a strict fiscal austerity package
  and social spending cuts the party supports.  Nagy is
  generally viewed as the leader of the Socialists left wing,
  which favors softening the harshness of Hungary's economic
  transition.  Member of Parliament Tamas Bauer, a leader of the
  liberals, dismisses Horm's concession as only formal.  Horn
  said he hopes he'll find an agreement with SZDSZ and said
  negotiations are continuing.  But he said the Socialists are
  willing to rule alone if needed.  The Socialists currently
  hold 52 percent of the seats in parliament.


**THE CENTRAL EUROPEAN LANGUAGE CONTROVERSY**
  The prime ministers of Hungary and Slovakia met yesterday for
  informal discussions expected to focus on a proposed Slovak
  language law that ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia say ignores
  their minority rights.  A Slovak foreign ministry spokesman
  told reporters that Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn and
  his Slovak counterpart Vladimir Meciar were holding informal
  discussions which are expected to continue today.  He would
  not say where the meeting was being held, but newspapers
  speculated it was in southern Slovakia.  The draft language
  bill would make Slovakian the official language and also the
  medium of instruction in schools even in areas in southern
  Slovakia where the country's 600,000 ethnic Hungarians make up
  the majority of the local population.  Hungary and Slovakia
  have signed a bilateral treaty binding both sides to abide by
  western European norms regarding the treatment of minorities,
  but the Slovak parliament has still to ratify the agreement.


**BUDAPEST HOSTS GYPSY FESTIVAL**
  Several hundred artists will showcase the music, theatre and
  literature of one of Europe's biggest racial minorities in
  Budapest this week at what is billed as the first
  international Gypsy cultural festival.  Chief organizer
  Tivadar Fatyol said the festival will try to clear up what he
  regarded as stereotypes that have dogged Gypsy culture through
  the centuries.  Among the guests performers at the four-day
  festival entitled "Rom Som"  or I am Gypsy, beginning on
  Thursday, are the Russian Gypsy Theatre and Yugoslavia's
  Teatro Roma Phralipe.  There will also be Flamenco from Spain
  while two Budapest hotels will highlight Gypsy cuisine and a
  cinema will show Gypsy films.



  BUSINESS NEWS
  -------------

**SHARES IN HUNGARIAN OIL TO FLOW**
  Hungary's state privatisation and asset holding company APV Rt
  announced today it has chosen three international investment
  banks to manage the placement of 25 percent of state oil
  company MOL with international institutional investors.
  Another 2 percent will be sold to Hungarian institutional and
  retail investors, 3 percent to employees and a further 5
  percent will be held in reserve to meet demand if the offer is
  over-subscribed.  Analysts said Hungary will not have
  difficulty finding buyers for the 30 percent of MOL it plans
  to sell by year-end as long as the shares are priced below
  current over-the-counter price levels. But they are also
  concerned about  recent media reports that MOL may appoint
  Laszlo Pal, Hungary's former trade and industry minister and a
  staunch opponent of rapid privatization, as chief executive.
  This, they  believe, may also cause some investors to hesitate
  before taking a stake in the company.


ABOUT CET ON-LINE
-----------------

* CET On-Line is Copyright (c) 1995 Word Up! Inc., New Media
  Group, all rights reserved.  Not-for-profit redistribution of
  CET On-Line in electronic format is allowed only if our
  copyright notice, and all other copyright and by-line
  information contained in this publication is included.
  For-profit distribution of this publication or the information
  contained herein is strictly prohibited without the express
  written permission of Word Up! Inc., New Media Group.  These
  conditions are subject to change without notice.  For further
  information, contact Zoltan Nagy at >

  Some portions of the news provided by special agreement with
  Reuters.  For information on Reuters news and information
  products, contact your local Reuters office.


* All "Letters to the Editor" and other comments about
  editorial content should be directed to Duncan Shiels at
  >.  Any comments about distribution or
  production should be directed to Zoltan Nagy at
  >.


**CET On-Line** is a Word Up! Inc., New Media Group
  Publication.  The New Media Group also publishes the Prague
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OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 170, Part II, 31 August 1995

SLOVAK, HUNGARIAN PREMIERS HOLD CONFIDENTIAL TALKS. Vladimir Meciar and
Gyula Horn on 29 August held confidential talks aimed at improving
bilateral relations, Western agencies reported. A spokeswoman for the
Slovak prime minister was quoted as saying that the two officials met in
a Slovak mountain resort. She said no information would be released
until Meciar and Horn briefed their respective parliaments. The talks
were likely to have focused on the Slovak draft language law--which,
critics claim, discriminates against the ethnic Hungarian minority in
Slovakia--and on the delayed ratification of a bilateral friendship
treaty. The treaty has been ratified by the Hungarian parliament but
still not approved by Slovak deputies. -- Jan Obrman, OMRI, Inc.

ROMANIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR "HISTORICAL RECONCILIATION" WITH HUNGARY.
Ion Iliescu, in a speech marking the 55th anniversary of the temporary
loss of northern Transylvania to Hungary, called for a "historical
reconciliation" with Budapest based on the German-French model. Iliescu,
whose address was broadcast live on Radio Bucharest on 30 August, said a
joint political declaration could be accompanied by a "judicial
document" specifying what mechanisms and instruments should be used in
the process. He added that a "code of conduct" should be drawn up to
deal with national minority issues. Iliescu also said Romania was ready
not only to start negotiations on such a reconciliation at once but also
to renew discussions on the bilateral treaty. He warned Hungarian
politicians not to pose as defenders of Hungarian minority rights in
neighboring countries or attempt to exercise control over those rights
from abroad. -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.

VAN DER STOEL ON MINORITY RIGHTS IN ROMANIA. Radio Bucharest on 30
August reported that Max van der Stoel, visiting OSCE High Commissioner
for Ethnic Minorities, told Prime Minister Nicolae Vacaroiu that the
"situation of national minorities in Romania has improved a lot." Van
der Stoel expressed the hope that "unjustified doubts" over the new
education law in Romania will be overcome, making it possible to "give
the green light to the process of Romanian-Hungarian reconciliation."
The high commissioner said Iliescu's speech on reconciliation was "very
important indeed." -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave


Thursday, 31 August 1995
Volume 2, Issue 169


REGIONAL NEWS
-------------

**ROMANIAN-HUNGARIAN TALKS MAY RESUME**
  Romanian President Ion Iliescu called on Wednesday for an
  historic reconciliation with neighbouring Hungary and a rapid
  return to treaty talks, stalled in mutual acrimony over
  minority rights.  Iliescu was speaking at a commemoration of
  the 55th anniversary of the fascist Vienna Diktat which gave
  Hungary control of Transylvania.  Romania retook Transylvania
  in 1944 but many Romanians fear Hungary harbours designs on
  the province.  In what analysts saw as an attempt to give
  impetus to diplomacy with Hungary, Iliescu proposed a post-war
  reconciliation mirroring that between France and Germany.  At
  the same time he warned Hungarian politicians not to meddle in
  Romania by stirring up old tensions within the 1.6
  million-strong Romanian ethnic Hungarian minority.  Western
  diplomats saw the speech as an initiative to unblock talks
  with Hungary, stalled over language rights.  The World Bank
  has approved a $110 million loan to rehabilitate and upgrade
  Romania's power sector.  The Bank's Bucharest mission said
  yesterdsay the loan, guaranteed by Romania, was on standard
  World Bank terms with a maturity of 20 years, including five
  years of grace.  The credit  will underpin a broader $364
  million project to support reforms in the power industry.


**FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 'ROM' CULTURE**
  Starting today in Budapest, several hundred artists will
  showcase gypsy music, theatre and literature in what is billed
  as the first international Gypsy cultural festival. The
  four-day festival entitled "Rom Som" (I am Gypsy) will feature
  Roma music, food, films and theatre, including the
  Netherlands' Rosenberg Trio and Gypsy Kids, the Russian Gypsy
  Theatre and Yugoslavia's Teatro Roma Phralipe, who will
  perform a version of Romeo ad Juliet set in Sarajevo.



BUSINESS NEWS
-------------

**CROATIA'S RAILWAYS CLOSED AGAIN**
  Croatian Railways (HZ) has once again stopped accepting
  Hungarian rail cargo destined to the port of Rijeka at least
  until the weekend.  Hungarian State Railways (MAV) said it is
  now exploring sending shipments of grain bound for the
  Mediterranean and North Africa to Romania's Black Sea port of
  Constanta.  The halt, which came just after Hungary completed
  its wheat harvest, stranded several hundred rail cars.  HZ
  stopped accepting Hungarian rail cargo earlier this month for
  about a week during Croatia's successful blitz against rebel
  Serbs.


**HUNGARY OPENS FOR OIL EXPLORATION**
  Four Western firms that were given the right to prospect for
  gas and oil in Hungary in 1994 have signed concession
  agreements and can start exploring once they register local
  subsidiaries.  Blue Star Corp, Coastal Corp, Occidental
  Petroleum Corp and Mobil Corp unit Mobil Erdgas Erdol GmbH won
  35-year concessions on six blocks.  The last of the four
  signed the agreement earlier this week.  Under plans that have
  been approved by Hungarian authorities, the firms will start
  seismic studies before the end of this year and will begin
  drilling in areas that look promising in 1996.


**DIVERSITY KILLS HUNGARIAN JOINT VENTURE**
  Hungary's drug maker Chinoin Gyogyszer es Vegyeszeti Termekek
  Gyara Rt and SmithKline Beecham's Sterling Health unit said
  they terminated their joint venture, which distributed the two
  firm's products.  In a joint statement, they said the joint
  venture ended because of SmithKline's purchase of Sterling
  Health last year, adding that SmithKline Beecham's and
  Sterling Health's combined product line would be too diverse
  with Chinoin's products.  Chinoin, Hungary's second largest
  drug firm, will sell its 49 percent stake in the joint
  venture, which had a turnover of approximately 604 million
  forints last year, to SmithKline.



ANALYSIS
--------

**HUNGARY'S COALITION GOVERNMENT TALKING DIVORCE**
  David Fink

  Hungary's governing parties began negotiations yesterday aimed
  at saving the coalition.  The Alliance of Free Democrats,
  or SZDSZ, still objects to Prime Minister Gyula Horn's plan to
  appoint trade union leader Sandor Nagy to a cabinet post that
  would give him a degree of control over economic policy.
  Adding to the tension, Finance Minister Lajos Bokros said he
  might quit if the Free Democrats leave the government.  CET
  spoke about the crises with Istvan Stumpf, the director of the
  Budapest School of Politics, and asked Stumpf why Horn
  nominated Nagy, a leading left wing Socialist, when it was
  sure to spark a row with the liberal SZDSZ.

  Stumpf:  I think they would like to get some support from the
  trade unions and bring some opportunities for the key leaders
  of the trade unions to be in the government holding some kind
  of responsibility for government action and probably this is
  part of the game of leadership in the Socialist party as well.
  When Horn supported the Bokros plan he lost his central
  position in the party and he wants to come back to this
  position."

  CET:  Do you think Prime Minister Horn is concerned about the
  possibility the Free Democrats will leave the coalition over
  this?

  Stumpf:  I think he's finally decided he's not going to think
  about the SZDSZ.  It's not necessary any more to be in the
  coalition because they loose the popularity and they couldn't
  get enough foreign support.  The media is not so strictly the
  government and also the intellectuals are leaving the
  coalition parties so that's why this marriage isn't as good as
  it was before.

  CET:  Why is there so much conflict between Prime Minister Horn
  and SZDSZ President Ivan Peto?

  Stumpf:  Mr Peto is much more an intellectual in the politics
  and he's thinking about the future on a long term basis.  Horn
  is much more a professional politician, he's able to make a
  decision quite quickly thinking not on the long term basis but
  on short term basis and providing some kind of political
  game."

  CET:  Do you the think the Free Democrats will in fact leave the
  coalition?

  Stumpf:  I think the conflict is increasing, the tension is
  increasing and I think its not impossible that this the SZDZS
  will decide that they are leaving the coalition.  I have no
  idea why they are leaving the coalition.  I think the
  interests to stay in the coalition is much greater from the
  SZDSZ side than the Socialists side."

  CET:  Why is it more in the Free Democrats interest to stay in
  the coalition than the Socialists?

  Stumpf:  I think because if they leave the coalition they will be
  alone,  in the opposition and they will loose the supporters,
  I mean the business supporters and maybe the other partners.
  Nobody would like to make a coalition with SZDSZ for the next
  election.

  CET:  Why would the SZDSZ loose business support if they left
  the coalition?

  Stumpf:  If they are leaving the coalition, I think they are
  loosing the opportunity to modify, or organize or lead
  privatization.  They loose the governmental position which is
  quite a good position to give some kind of idea what kind of
  privatization would be better in Hungary.  In opposition they
  have no chance to do anything.

  Stumpf and other observers predict the crises will end, one way
  or another, by next week.



ABOUT CET ON-LINE
-----------------

* CET On-Line is Copyright (c) 1995 Word Up! Inc., New Media
  Group, all rights reserved.  Not-for-profit redistribution of
  CET On-Line in electronic format is allowed only if our
  copyright notice, and all other copyright and by-line
  information contained in this publication is included.
  For-profit distribution of this publication or the information
  contained herein is strictly prohibited without the express
  written permission of Word Up! Inc., New Media Group.  These
  conditions are subject to change without notice.  For further
  information, contact Zoltan Nagy at >

  Some portions of the news provided by special agreement with
  Reuters.  For information on Reuters news and information
  products, contact your local Reuters office.


* All "Letters to the Editor" and other comments about
  editorial content should be directed to Duncan Shiels at
  >.  Any comments about distribution or
  production should be directed to Zoltan Nagy at
  >.


**CET On-Line** is a Word Up! Inc., New Media Group
  Publication.  The New Media Group also publishes the Prague
  Financial Monitor on-line.  For more information on the Prague
  FM, send a message with the word INFO in the body of a message
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date=8/30/95
type=background report
number=5-30990
title=Czech Slovak Trade
byline=Barry Wood
dateline=Prague
content=
voiced at:

Intro:  Trade relations between the Czech and Slovak Republics
are becoming increasingly rocky.  As V-o-A's Barry Wood in Prague
reports, trade is one of the subjects that may be discussed when
prime ministers of the two nations meet next month (Sept. 11Th)
for the first time in almost a year.

Text:  As part of the so-called "velvet divorce" that dissolved
Czechoslovakia in late 1992, the new Czech and Slovak Republics
agreed to maintain a common currency and duty free trade.  The
common currency idea failed quickly.  But the customs union has
persisted even in the face of increased regulations and special
exemptions.

Trade between the Czech and Slovak Republics has steadily
diminished in the nearly three years since the Czechoslovak
federation was dissolved.  Despite the decline, Slovakia still
depends on the Czech market and the Czech Republic remains
Slovakia's biggest trading partner.

The Czech Republic absorbs 32 percent of Slovak exports and
accounts for 28 percent of Slovak imports.  For its part Slovakia
takes only 15 percent of Czech exports and provides only 14
percent of Czech imports.

A major trade impediment is a 10 percent surcharge that Slovakia
has been imposing on all imports since late 1993.  The surcharge,
meant to boost government revenue and support Slovak industry, is
scheduled to be gradually reduced.  But now there are signs that
for political reasons, Slovakia may be deliberately trying to
reduce its dependence on Czech trade.

Last week, Slovak authorities stunned Czech exporters by
announcing that Slovakia would abolish all import duties on small
cars (those with engine displacements of 1500 cc or less). Under
the customs union, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have duties of
from 11 to 19 percent on all cars manufactured in third
countries.

The Slovak measure is seen to be aimed at the
Volkswagen-controlled Skoda company which supplies 57 percent of
the Slovak car market from its plant outside of Prague.  Business
executives describe the Slovak action as an astute means of
forcing down car prices while reducing Skoda's Slovak market
share.  Slovakia would like to diversify its trade and import
more from Poland, Hungary, and Ukraine, and Russia.

Slovakia's import barriers for Czech goods are  not  confined to
cars.  Imports of Czech beer are subject to restrictions and
there are limits on imports of Czech sugar and food stuffs.  In
addition, new Slovak regulations require special packaging and
standards and increased use of the Slovak language.  (Signed)

neb/bdw/jwh/mmk

30-Aug-95 12:19 pm edt (1619 utc)
nnnn

source: Voice of America


N E W S L E T T E R

from the Daily Bulletin of the Hungarian News Agency MTI
distributed by the Department for Press and International Information
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Hungary

H-1394, Budapest P.O.B. 423.
Telephone: 36 (1) 156-8000
Telefax: 36 (1) 156-3801
No. 162                                                      30 August 1995

Hungarian IPU Delegation in New York

        Washington, August 29 (MTI) - A Hungarian delegation is
attending the special session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
Council to be held in New York, to mark the 50th anniversary of the
founding of the United Nations.

        The delegation, led by Matyas Szuros, Chairman of the IPU"s
Hungarian National Group, arrived in New York on Monday. The
delegation includes Tamas Katona, Deputy Chairman of the Hungarian
IPU group, and Laszlo Kovacs, the group"s General Secretary.

        The aim of the special conference is to evaluate the last 50
years from the point of view of the parliaments. The agenda includes
topics as, for instance, democracy, the programme for peace and
stable development, the intensification and democratization of the
system of institutions for international cooperation, and expanding
relations between the U.N. and IPU.

        Szuros, as representative of the Central and Eastern European
r set up a ministegion, will also participate in the work of the IPU
Executive  Committee.
 |
        Television Interview with Prime Minister /01

        Budapest, August 29 (MTI) - Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula
Horn will continue to insist on his concepts aimed at improving the
work of the cabinet and reshuffling the government, and hopes that
an agreement will be reached with the junior coalition partner, the
Alliance of Free Democrats (AFD).

        Speaking on Tuesday morning in Hungarian Television"s breakfast
programme Napkelte, Horn added the survival of the coalition does
not depend on the Hungarian Socialist Party (HSP).
        The prime minister was interviewed after the HSP"s
parliamentary  group held a marathon session on Monday to discuss the
issues and  tasks related to the country"s economic situation and
improving the  work of the government.
        Horn said the great majority of the parliamentary group
supported the concepts aimed at improving the cabinet"s work. Horn"s
concept is to again separate the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and
tory of economics relying on the Ministry of  Industry.

        During the parliamentary group session, Horn moved to set up a
separate post of state secretary in charge of information, and for a
minister without portfolio to direct the work of the Prime
Minister"s Office.
        Discussing Monday"s session, Horn said the day-long debate
indicates that the socialist MPs have a responsible approach as
regards the situation of the country, and putting the country"s
finances and economy in order.

        The problems that characterize the relation with the junior
coalition partner, the AFD, were also discussed. "What we would like
is to aggree with the coalition partner, which is why we have
commissioned a team of negotiators to submit proposals to the
coalition coordination council," Horn said.

        Television Interview with Prime Minister /02

        Budapest, August 29 (MTI) - In answer to a question about  the
reasons for the changing the governmental structure, Prime  Minister
Horn said:

        "The Hungarian government, similarly to other Central and
Eastern European governments, is in a characteristic situation. Its
work basically differs from that of the western government who do
not have to handle crisis situations of such dimensions. And this
crisis implies that we must deal with economic branches and units,
with bankrupt companies and with restructuring. Our government  ust
deal with many thousands of concrete issues, for which we have a
fairly reduced and understaffed apparatus, and suitable coordination
between the work of the various ministries is also lacking. There
are very many government resolutions whose implementation is
sluggish, and I cannot resign myself to this.

        "On the other hand, we shall continue financial and economic
stabilization. At the same time, the path must also be widened.
There are very many concepts, for instance, in law and order, the
economic area or welfare policy, where a better situation could be
created even amidst the current limited circumstances, where we
could better face the challenges. Therefore, I am of the opinion
that the government expansion is definitely needed, all the more so
because we need an economic strategy that not only prepares our
membership in the European Union, but simultaneously offers versions
that make it possible for us to resolve several matters which we
have so far been unable to do," Horn said.

        "I believe a prime minister should deal with comprehensive
issues, socio-political issues, and should create a balance between
the various branches. On the other hand, the Prime Minister"s
Office, and I, personally, must today deal with hundreds of cases
that require urgent steps and measures, which consume time and
energy, ones that should not be the task of a prime minister.

        "Furthermore, I would much prefer to utilize my existing
contacts, mainly in the West, but also in the East, to even better
promote the country"s external assistance, including financial
assitance. I feel I should concentrate on these two basic tasks,"
Horn said.(more)
 |
Television Interview with Prime Minister /03

         Budapest, August 29 (MTI) - With respect to the probable
position to be taken by the Alliance of Free Democrats (AFD), the
junior coalition partner, Horn said:
        I hope we shall succeed in convincing the AFD, first because I
have never wanted to, nor do I want to reduce the weight of the AFD
within the government. AFD ministers are responsilbe for culture,
education, science, the churches, transport, telecommunications,
water management, the supervision of the local government and a
considerable part of the armed forces. Those who say the AFD does
not receive its due role do not take reality into consideration.

        "The case in point is not that the HSP or its parliamentary
group want further areas, as it has directed those in the past, too,
just as privatization was in the past supervised by the minister of
finance. When we set up the posts of ministers without portfolio to
direct privatization, both those areas remained under socialist
direction. Political state secretary Elemer Kiss, who is expected to
become a Minister without Portfolio, will essentially receive a post
within the Prime Minister"s Office," the prime minister said.

        As to what the HSP, which has a 54 per cent majority in
Parliament, would do if the AFD decides, for one reason or another,
to withdraw from the coalition, Prime Minister Horn said:
        "I hope this will not take place. But even if we are left alone
in Parliament with our 54 per cent majority, we shall continue to
govern... However, we wish to uphold the coalition," Horn said on
Hungarian Television on Tuesday morning.
  ||

 |
 Foreign Affairs Spokesman"s Briefing /01

         Budapest, August 29 (MTI) - As reported earlier, prime
ministers Gyula Horn of Hungary and Vladimir Meciar of Slovakia will
have unofficial, informal discussions on Tuesday evening and on
Wednesday in Slovakia. The talks have no fixed agenda, the two
politicians themselves will decide what they wish to talk about,
said foreign affairs spokesman Gabor Szentivanyi at his customary
press briefing in Budapest on Tuesday. The meeting can almost be
regarded as a tete-a-tete as the two heads of government will be
assisted by only one or two colleagues, Szentivanyi added.

        Each of the recent meetings between Horn and Meciar has brought
results, he continued. The two countries have become signatories to
the framework agreement of the Council of Europe, they have signed
the Hungarian-Slovak basic treaty, managed to agree on an additional
supply of water to the Szigetkoz region of the Danube, N Hungary,
and have opened two new border posts. Since the July 7 trilateral
talks in Rust - initiated by Austrian Federal Chancellor Franz
Vranitzky - Hungary and Slovakia have had a series of talks at
ministerial level.

        The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was shocked to learn
about the massacre that occurred in Sarajevo on Monday, Szentivanyi
went on. It deeply condemns all such actions and is concerned that
such incidents may hinder the peace negotiations.

        In answer to a question Szentivanyi said: Prime Minister Gyula
Horn"s suggestion that the parties involved in the conflict in the
former Yugoslavia should hold a peace conference in Budapest was
worth making and the Hungarian government was right in its
assessment of the situation. However, it must not be forgotten that
talks are going on through a number of channels simultaneously and
the American peace plan is at a stage which limits the chances of
the Hungarian proposal being realized. The Hungarian plan includes
two novel features: it proposes involving in the talks not only the
parties involved but also the countries affected, and it aims to
create an opportunity for the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe to contribute to resolving the crisis. (more)
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 Foreign Affairs Spokesman"s Briefing /02

        Budapest, August 29 (MTI) - Szentivanyi made it clear that
Hungary considers the closing down of the Malev airlines" bureau in
Moscow to be a case of civil law, and that there is no Russian
political decision behind it. However, despite it being a civil
dispute, the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes it
necessary to provide maximum consular protection to the Malev
agency. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has pledged it will
order an investigation into the case and call for legal  proceedings.

        The Minister President of Lower Saxony Gerhard Schroder will
visit Hungary on September 4, and during his stay he will meet Prime
Minister Gyula Horn.

        Lynn Davis, U.S. deputy secretary of state responsible for
international security policy affairs, will be in Budapest at the
head of a delegation from August 30 to September 1. In the course of
a Central European tour, the American politician will inform
Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland about the United
States" position on the formation of a multilateral system for
monitoring the trade in conventional weapons and dual-use product .
 During the delegation"s stay in Budapest, the Hungarian-American
security policy team will hold its first session, with security
policy issues and admission to NATO on its agenda.

        In answer to journalists questions, Szentivanyi reiterated that
the Hungarian government would not like to see an outbreak of armed
conflict next to Hungary"s southern border. Through the diplomatic
mission and the deputy state secretaries, Hungary has repeatedly
asked Belgrade not to upset the ethnic balance in  Hungarian-
populated territories, despite their serious problems with  the Serb
refugees. The Hungarian government hopes that Belgrade will  take
steps that will lead to a more even flow of Serbs into the  Vojvodina
region, the foreign affairs spokesman said

Horn and Meciar Meet at Stary Smokovec

Bratislava, August 29 (MTI) - Prime ministers Gyula Horn of  Hungary
and Vladimir Meciar of Slovakia today began negotiations at  Stary
Smokovec in the High Tatras amidst high security measures, a
correspondent of Slovak Television said. The announcement denied
previous news that the summit was taking place at Tatranske
Matliare.
        The negotiations are being attended by the ambassadors of both
countries.
        Although Meciar announced in a radio statement last week that
the language bill would not be discussed, Bratislava observers say
that the talks focus on this issue and the delay in the ratification
of the Hungarian-Slovak basic treaty.

        The prime ministers are believed to be coordinating their
positions prior to the forthcoming summit of the Central European
Free Trade Agreement, to take place in Brno in early September.

        Press circles in Bratislava are following the meeting with
great  expectations, recalling that Horn and Meciar could reach
compromises  even after the deadlock in previous bilateral
negotiations.


Correction to Yesterday"s Article on Irish Minister of Justice

        Budapest, August 29 (MTI) - In yesterday"s article entitled
"Irish Minister of Justice Has Talks in Hungary", please read the
the last sentence of the first paragraph as follows:

        The Irish politician, who arrived in Budapest on Sunday at the
head of a delegation, announced at a press briefing that Ireland
will open an embassy in Hungary in the next few weeks.

        We are sorry for the mistake.