It often seems that if we do what we have to, we will do what we must not, and that if we refrain from what we must not do, we will fail to do what we have to, Mesic said, adding that he was referring to the relationship between the need to make energy and energy sources always available to everyone and the necessity to prevent climate changes so as to preserve the foundation of man's existence.
Mesic said Southeast Europe was an important intersection of energy routes with the potential to become even more important in the future. He called on the region's countries' leaders to contribute at this summit to the consideration of the increasingly acute and topical issue of energy source supply and energy's role in people's lives.
The time of ideological confrontation is behind us, but today many have reason to warn about a new threat, possible conflicts over energy resources, from fossil hydrocarbon sources and means of their transport to atomic power plants, said Mesic.
Mankind was once faced with the task of preventing the cataclysm which the atomic war of ideologically confronted blocs would have brought about, but today one must prevent the straining of international relations and arrested development, which could be caused by unresolved energy supply issues, Mesic said, underlining that the only right path was agreement and cooperation with respect for various opinions.
He was referring to an agreement guaranteeing that one's energy interests will not be achieved by force and that energy source availability will not be used as a means of political pressure, which also refers to transit countries, generating countries and consumers.
The energy source market has to be free, open and transparent, and energy sources have to be available to everyone under identical conditions, Mesic said.
He also highlighted agreements on rational energy use, the development of alternative sources and notably environmental projection.
He said it would be desirable to assume that the rules of behaviour in international cooperation on energy would provide a model for the settlement of future problems in the supply of other vital raw materials, notably potable water.
He underlined the importance of reaching agreement on rules of behaviour, saying there could be no alternative even though solutions that fully satisfied everyone's interests might never be found.
However, those solutions have to be the best one that we can reach in these times and circumstances. That is our criterion and our responsibility. Only in that case will what we are doing now stand the test that we shall all take before the future and the generations to come, said Mesic.
He underlined that there was something on which there must be no compromise, something that had to be achieved, no matter the price - the protection of the environment and nature.
Mesic also underlined that although energy was a necessity of life, its price must not be the destruction of the environment which literally enables us to live.
Mesic said the policy he outlined could make the region's countries partners on the world energy scene as the only way to influence political relations in a world where care for the future of energy was becoming one of the most important chains of international cooperation.
The Zagreb conference gathered Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia as a special guest, Georgi Parvanov of Bulgaria, Traian Basescu of Romania, Alfred Moisiu of Albania, Filip Vujanovic of Montenegro, Branko Crvenkovski of Macedonia and Boris Tadic of Serbia as well as Bosnian and Herzegovina Presidency chairman Nebojsa Radmanovic.
Slovenia is represented by Development Minister Iga Turk and Greece by Deputy Development Minister Anastasios Nerancis.
A representative of the European Commission will follow the conference.