BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA via SEESAC email 18 Oct 07 Bosnia peace envoy says inadequate arms storage is "great danger" Sources BBC Monitoring Service, SRNA High Representative Miroslav Lajcak said today that munitions and arms storage in Bosnia-Hercegovina posed a great danger and should be resolved as soon as possible. "Most arms depots in Bosnia-Hercegovina do not meet international criteria and NATO standards, which is not possible anyway due to geographical location or lack of funds," Lajcak said after inspecting an ammunition depot in Brizjak near Vitez. He said that he would soon impress upon local officials that Bosnia-Hercegovina needed a clear strategy for resolving this issue. "The Defence Ministry should determine the quantity of arms and ammunition Bosnia-Hercegovina needs, while everything else must be solved either through sale or liquidation before a tragedy occurs," Lajcak said and added that foreign donors, most notably the UNDP, could help out in this matter and place this issue at the top of their priority list. According to him, it is obvious that the attention and funds invested in this problem at the moment are just not enough. "This is a race against time and we are losing it - this must change," Lajcak pointed out. He said that the Bosnia-Hercegovina Armed Forces were trying hard to solve this problem, but that they needed help and a minimum of conditions to do their job properly. The High Representative added that the situation was not alarming at all locations where arms were stored, that some of them had good prospects and that arms and ammunition should be transferred there. Eufor [EU Force] commander Hans Jochen Witthauer said that Eufor was closely collaborating with the Bosnia-Hercegovina Armed Forces in resolving this issue, but that it was not responsible for storage. "We are here to provide support for a stable environment and make sure that the relevant bodies of authority remove such materials," Witthauer said. He explained that Eufor was helping in this process by informing donors about what was needed to resolve this problem, and urge Eufor member countries to help the Bosnia-Hercegovina Armed Forces cope with this issue.