The Croatian Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Neven Pelicaric, on Thursday called the Slovene Deputy Ambassador in Zagreb, Robert Krmelj, to express strong protest on the part of Croatia over the statement by the Slovene Minister of the Environment and Regional Planning, Janez Podobnik.
Earlier in the day Podobnik said at a press conference that the border between Slovenia and Croatia near Hotiza and Sveti Martin na Muri runs down the middle of the Mura river because such a state of affairs existed on June 25, 1991 when the two countries declared independence from the Yugoslav federation.
"The Republic of Croatia considers the opinions and assessments of Minister Podobnik completely unacceptable, factually incorrect and without basis in international law," the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration said in a statement.
Podobnik's statement "is in direct contravention of all agreements and international treaties concluded between the governments of Croatia and Slovenia relating to the said area, including the recent joint statement by the prime ministers of the two countries, which explicitly says that the boundaries of the cadastral districts in that area have mainly been harmonised," the statement said, adding that in 1996 Slovenia had confirmed that the border in the Sveti Martin na Muri/Hotiza area was fully harmonised.
Pelicaric said it was unacceptable for such "important and sensitive issues" between the two countries "to be arbitrarily politicised and irresponsibly used for election purposes," referring to forthcoming elections in Slovenia.
Podobnik is also president of the Slovene People's Party (SLS), which is a member of the ruling coalition.
The Croatian ministry further said that it could not accept the fact that a Slovene government minister was questioning the agreements and international treaties accepted and signed by Slovene governments.
Pelicaric insisted that in the agreements that the two countries have concluded to date the Slovene government confirmed that the bridge on the Mura river and the Sveti Martin na Muri/Hotiza border crossing on the left bank of the Mura were in the territory of the Croatian state, which he said Podobnik challenged in his statement.
After the last meeting between Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and his Slovene counterpart Janez Jansa, Croatia expected that the tensions would be defused, Pelicaric said.