Mario Nobilo addressed a news conference in Ljubljana on Thursday, which was his first news conference in the Slovene capital after he returned to Ljubljana from Zagreb where he had been recalled amid growing criticism of Slovenia's plans to adopt a law on its continental shelf and ecological zone in the Adriatic. All this led to a worsening of bilateral relations.
Most of the questions asked at today's news conference referred to Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader's announcements that the two countries should go to international arbitration and commit to accepting the arbitration's decision on the border at sea.
Nobilo said that Croatia was considering that issue seriously, adding that Zagreb "will do nothing which could surprise the Slovene government. This is a natural course of events and when the time has come, we shall continue talks with the Slovene government".
This issue can be solved during Croatia's integration into the European Union, and there are excellent prospects for the cooperation between the two countries in the protection of the northern Adriatic, the diplomat said.
Nobilo added that Croatian officials again raised the issue of international arbitration in response to the Slovene government's plans to move to the parliament a bill declaring a continental shelf and ecological zone which he said did not have access to Slovene territorial waters and was not in compliance with international law.
Nobilo addressed the news conference after he attended a closed-door discussion on the bilateral relations called "Slovenia, Croatia: Frustrated Partners". The debate was organised by the Ljubljana-based Institute for Strategic Research.
Participants in the event, most of whom are university professors and diplomats, pointed the finger at "politicians and the media" accusing them of causing problems in Croatian-Slovene relations. They proposed that instead, attention should be focused on economic cooperation. Some participants proposed the 'scandinavisation' of the Slovene and Croatian economies.