EU ready to cut Bosnia troops, timing unclear

LEVI, Finland, Oct 2 (Reuters) European Union defence ministers backed a plan today to cut the bloc's 6,000-plus peace mission in Bosnia to around 1,500 troops but disagreed on when such a move would be possible.

France's Michele Alliot-Marie insisted at talks in northern Finland that early cuts would be irresponsible given tensions in the region over the final status of Kosovo, the breakaway region in neighbouring Serbia, and urged caution.

''Our general assessment today is that the plan that General Reith presented us is valid and that we can go forward according to this plan,'' Finnish Defence Minister Seppo Kaariainen, whose country holds the EU Presidency, told a news conference of a proposal made by senior EU commander John Reith.

The EU hopes longstanding ethnic tensions will cool and that new leaders emerging from this weekend's elections will find common ground on how to run Bosnia after next year's dismantling of the protectorate set up after the 1992-95 war.

The aim is ultimately to convert the military presence, inherited by the EU from NATO in 2004, to a more civilian one involved in lighter tasks such as policing.

Any wind-down in Bosnia would ease the burden on European armies already stretched by their participation in missions across the world, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said the transition could start as early as December, but others advised caution.

''It would be criminally irresponsible to withdraw too early, especially in light of the tensions surrounding Kosovo,'' said an aide to France's Alliot-Marie, summing up her speech to EU counterparts.

Italian Defence Minister Arturo Parisi also stressed any reductions depended on the situation in Kosovo, where a number of EU nations contribute to NATO's 17,500-strong peacekeeping force KFOR.

U.N. mediator Martti Ahtisaari was to brief ministers later on Kosovo, weeks before he is scheduled to present his solution for the U.N.-administered province. Diplomats expect the outcome to be some form of supervised independence despite the fact it will almost certainly be rejected by Belgrade.

Bosnians turned out in big numbers on Sunday to elect politicians who will lead the impoverished Balkan nation after international supervision ends. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a statement in Brussels the polls were generally in line with international standards.

They voted for the state presidency and parliament as well as the president and two vice-presidents in the Serb Republic.

They also cast ballots for the assemblies of the two regions and 10 federation cantons.

Organisers said Bosnia's wartime foreign minister, Haris Silajdzic, leads in the race for the Muslim member of the three-person state presidency against incumbent Sulejman Tihic, with other results due later in the day.

REUTERS SK BD2342