Kosutic, Ambassador to Israel

VREME has learned unofficially that the first "Yugoslav" ambassador to Israel after the relations between Belgrade and Jerusalem have been restored will be Budimir Kosutic, a well known non-party personality in Serbia.

The nomination procedure is in process. The "Presidency" of Yugoslavia which has, in the past few weeks been very active in recalling the chiefs of diplomatic missions abroad from the personnel lists of the former Yugoslav republics, had the nerve to make this unexpected move. It must have been preceded by a favourable signal from Israel, which means that Jerusalem is willing to accept Kosutic's credentials, regardless of the fact that they will be approved by the incomplete Presidency - which has not been recognized by a majority of countries. The professor at the Belgrade Faculty of Law, who held the office of deputy president of the Serbian government in the previous mandate as a political amateur, has been quickly promoted into one of the most popular Serbian politicians. The consensus which has been reached concerning his nomination in Belgrade must have been prompted by the need to keep Kosutic as far as possible from Western Slavonia.

S.S.