Speaking at the news conference that was broadcast live by Slovene Radio, Mate said that the decision was made "on the political level" so that "persons who have documents issued and vehicles registered in Slovenia could have unimpeded access to their homes". He underlined that the border in the area had not been defined yet and that despite the fact that the area was registered in Croatian cadastral books, Slovenia could not tolerate its being connected to Croatian infrastructure.
Mate went on to say that he was in contact with the Croatian Interior Minister and that he talked to him over the phone today.
Speaking in the presence of chief of police Joze Romsek, Mate said that the future activities of special police units and the question of whether they would remain deployed would depend on both countries.
"Our goal is to build the dyke and have things done consensually," Mate said referring to the reconstruction of a dyke on the River Mura.
Commenting on the conduct of Croatian police who today detained a group of Slovene reporters near Mursice, the Slovene minister said that it was contrary to the bilateral declaration on the avoidance of incidents, as well as the recent agreement on the reconstruction of the dyke on the Mura.
He went on to say that the Slovene journalists who were arrested did have permission from Croatian authorities to visit the area, where they wanted to film a programme.
The minister would not give a clear answer as to whether the current situation meant the cessation of joint police patrols in the sector. He said that today's arrests would be investigated and that Slovenia would take action if necessary.