Vajgl added, however, that Slovenia's diplomats were investing great efforts into a campaign to assert Slovene rights in the Adriatic, Slovene media reported on Thursday.
According to the Ljubljana-based Delo daily, Vajgl said it was too early to consider arbitration and added that disputed issues (in Piran Bay) could be solved bilaterally.
Commenting on Croatia's Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone, which will go into force on October 3, Vajgl said the zone should not affect Slovenia's interests and that it was declared unilaterally.
Considering that the session of the foreign affairs committee was open to public, Vajgl did not wish to speak in detail about Slovenia's preparations on the foreign political front ahead of October 3. According to the Maribor-based Vecer daily, Vajgl told deputies in parliament that arbitration regarding the sea border was not necessary because not all diplomatic means had been exhausted.
According to the daily, Slovenia insists on the Drnovsek-Racan agreement and access to the open sea.
Vajgl said that Slovene diplomats were discussing this issue with their counterparts in neighbouring countries, the European Commission and at all other bilateral talks. He added that Slovenia was preparing for the start of implementation of Croatia's Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone in case the zone proved to have a negative impact on Slovenia's interests.
He said that the main reason for incidents in Piran Bay was Croatia's rejection to adopt the Drnovsek-Racan agreement, initialled in 2001.
According to the Slovene news agency STA, minister Vajgl said the agreement was "the final act in the Slovene government strategy", but that Croatia refused to adopt it.