CROATIAN, SLOVENE PRESIDENTS COMMENT ON ECONOMIC ZONE DISPUTE

OHRID, Aug 30 (Hina) - Zagreb and Ljubljana need to discuss Croatia's plan to proclaim an economic zone in the Adriatic "together" and "calmly", Slovene President Janez Drnovsek said on Saturday, while his Croatian counterpart Stjepan Mesic agreed there was no need to foment tensions. #L# After talks in Macedonia's Ohrid, where they and six other heads of state from Southeast Europe and Hungary are attending a UNESCO conference, Drnovsek spoke to Croatian media about the economic zone issue, which has been the source of disputes in Slovenia and Croatia for days, both in public and among legal experts and politicians. "We need to discuss it together, analyse interests and find a solution in peace and without criticising," said Drnovsek. Croatia cannot make a one-sided decision, exclude Slovenia and prejudge final borders, said Drnovsek, who last year initialled a deal on the sea border in Piran Bay with Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan which Croatia has not yet ratified. Talking to reporters later, Croatian President Mesic said there was no need to stir up tensions over the economic zone and that he advocated finding a peaceful solution for every issue. Citing international law, he said yesterday that a country made the decision about an economic zone independently and that if a solution could not be found, one opted for arbitration, "but to nobody's detriment". According to Mesic, the most important thing is to protect the Adriatic Sea and its fish, preserving it for future generations. Drnovsek said the proclamation of the economic zone should not be raised ahead of elections and certainly not be made into a "pre- election topic". Mesic said he and Drnovsek had addressed other open issues between the two neighbouring countries as well, such as Ljubljanska Bank's debt to Croatian depositors and money owed by the Krsko nuclear power plant to Croatia's power utility company HEP. "It's a chain we have to find a way out of," he said. (hina) ha