Bosnia’s Muslims, Croats Renew Alliance : Balkans: U.S. officials obtain pledge at meeting in Germany. The nearly year-old federation has few concrete aspects so far.

In a move aimed at heading off further instability in the Balkans, the United States on Sunday persuaded Bosnia’s Croatian and Muslim leaders to rededicate themselves to a shaky federation formed last March.

Following a meeting that took place on the fringes of a major security conference here, Richard Holbrooke, assistant secretary of state for European and Canadian affairs, announced agreement on a nine-point plan to breathe new life into the accord that has managed to halt Croatian-Muslim fighting but has come under serious strain.

“It’s had a pretty rough first year,” said Holbrooke, who chaired Sunday’s meeting. “We were looking for a recommitment, and that is what we achieved.”

At a news conference following the meeting, Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic described the federation as “the bedrock, the key” to the Balkan peace process. He urged all parties to the Bosnian conflict to use the remaining three months of a four-month cease-fire to search for a permanent peace in the region.

Standing at his side, Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic used similar language, calling the federation “the basis for the future peace in the region.”

Last year’s Croatian-Muslim federation agreement was a rare diplomatic success in the tangled world of ethnic rivalries at the heart of the Balkan conflict. It was brokered by the United States and crowned by a signing ceremony at the White House hosted by President Clinton.

Under the terms of the agreement, Croats and Muslims living in Bosnia-Herzegovina agreed to end their differences and join in a political system with power-sharing features and safeguards for minorities.

In the 11 months since the agreement was signed, however, little of this has happened. After Silajdzic warned of growing tensions in the federation during a visit to Washington last week, the United States called Sunday’s meeting to head off its collapse.

During the course of the meeting, Muslim and Croatian leaders met senior officials from the five-nation Contact Group trying to broker a peace agreement in Bosnia, as well as Defense Secretary William J. Perry and three U.S. senators--all of whom reportedly stressed their support for the federation.

While the Croatian-Muslim federation has achieved little, any unraveling of the agreement that created it would both heighten the danger of renewed fighting between Croats and Muslims and deal a serious psychological blow to the troubled region.

Right now Bosnia hangs between faint hopes raised by the New Year’s cease-fire and growing worry about the implications of Croatian President Franjo Tudjman’s decision to expel 14,000 U.N. peacekeepers by the end of March.

Under the terms of Sunday’s nine-point plan, Muslim and Croatian leaders will receive international technical help in establishing the federation’s key institutions. In return, they agreed to appoint an international arbitrator to handle major differences between them and to have the arbitrator’s decisions be binding.

A standing commission to oversee and monitor the federation’s development is also to be established in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo.

U.S. officials indicated that they will press several countries to support the federation with financial aid.