The Croatian president reiterated his views on the Badinter Commission, which ruled that the borders of the former Yugoslav republics should be treated as the borders of the newly-independent states, saying that the commission's decisions should be respected.
Speaking of the different positions of Slovenia and Croatia on the border issue, Mesic said that the two countries should set up a commission to identify the land border "metre by metre", and that it would be easier to demarcate the sea border once the point of contact of the land border in the Bay of Piran is determined.
As for the debt of the now defunct Ljubljanska Banka to Croatian depositors, Mesic said that the right of the depositors to their savings should be recognised and that for the start they should at least be paid interest on their deposits.
Mesic said that the European Union did not want acceding countries to burden it with their unresolved issues.
Croatia and Slovenia can resolve the border issue bilaterally, but if they fail, they should seek international arbitration, the Croatian president said.