31.   Unidentified Croatian government sources told the ITAR-Tass news agency that Tudjman backed the initiative, but was waiting for more details.

32.   IGAD has backed an initiative to end the civil war in Sudan.

33.   India was initially reluctant but former premier H.D. Deve Gowda backed the initiative when he visited Bangladesh in January this year, he said.

34.   ASEAN leaders whom Koizumi met during his tour backed the initiative, but any US role in the proposed alliance has yet to be defined.

35.   At the opening session on Monday, the leaders expressed concern at the situation in Burundi and strongly backed peace initiatives for the troubled east African state.

36.   Denmark declined Wednesday to send troops to join a UN peace force in Rwanda, saying African countries ought to be backing the initiative.

37.   Diplomats told AFP that Washington would back an initiative to create a UN-mandated police force to help the international supervisor who is to oversee Brcko for a year.

38.   Their initiative was backed on Tuesday by Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda.

39.   Washington has said it is prepared to back the initiative within the framework of a Security Council resolution.

40.   US lawmakers critical of the government in Ankara are backing the initiative, the newspaper said.