"That would not be the first such arrangement and its execution would be a matter of agreement. But that was a very internal discussion about one of the possibilities to prevent a repetition of conflicts," Kucan told Ljubljana's Delo daily of Saturday.
The bulk of the interview focused on the current political situation in Slovenia, but he also spoke of relations with Croatia, including the outstanding border issues, and the issue of Croatian deposits in Ljubljanska Banka.
Kucan was unable to say why nothing concrete had come out of his talks with Tudjman to rent out part of the Savudrija tip to Slovenia, but said that today there was no one in Croatia who would think it worthy to reopen talks on the matter.
"That would be a solution from which both sides would benefit. Their world reputation would grow and nobody would have the feeling that they obtained something while the other side in the dispute lost something."
Speaking of the border with Croatia, Kucan said Slovenia should insist on the principles and the state of affairs on 25 June 1991, when both states declared independence from ex-Yugoslavia. He added that both sides had departed from those principles.
The former president said both states should refrain from unilateral acts on the border whereby they tried to prove that they were "exercising sovereignty" in a certain part of disputed territory. He said Slovenia had committed such acts too and that this made its protests about border incidents "less credible".
Kucan said border issues carried a strong emotional element and that one should wait for "more sensible times" to adopt final solutions.
He also spoke of now defunct Ljubljanska Banka's debt to Croatian depositors. "We should service (the debt) and then in negotiations on succession (to the former Yugoslavia) demand with more credibility that it be determined who the real debtor is."
"The poor climate between Slovenia and Croatia and the poor image Croats have of Slovenia is in great part due to the mistake made in connection with Ljubljanska Banka," Kucan said, adding that Slovenia too had lost a lot economically due to the mistake.
Asked if outstanding issues with Croatia should be tied to its accession negotiations with the European Union, Kucan said: "That is possible, but the question is whether it is good".