"There have never been any negotiations with Austria or trade in our minority's right so as to settle relations between Slovenia and Croatia. I resolutely dismiss such insinuations," the diplomat told the Ljubljana-based daily Delo on Tuesday over the phone.
According to a statement given recently by Karl Smolle, a leader of Austrian Slovenes, on behalf of the Slovene government, Petric has urged representatives of the Slovene minority's organisations to accept the Austrian offer regarding bilingual topographic signposts in villages and towns inhabited by ethnic Slovenes.
Smolle also claims that the Slovene Foreign Ministry ties its financial support to ethnic Slovenes with their acceptance of an agreement regarding bilingual town names. In this context, Smolle said that Ljubljana counted on greater backing from Austria in its efforts to solve outstanding issues with its eastern neighbour Croatia if it succeeded in persuading Austrian Slovenes to accept a smaller number of bilingual signposts.