KACIN: AMBASSADOR RECALLED DUE TO CROATIANS' CONFLICTING CLAIMS

LJUBLJANA, Sept 1 (Hina) - The chairman of the Slovene parliament's foreign policy committee, Jelko Kacin, has said that the withdrawal of Slovene Ambassador to Croatia Peter Bekes to Ljubljana for consultations is "the right move", prompted by Croatian President Stjepan Mesic's and Foreign Minister Tonino Picula's conflicting statements about Croatia's plans to declare an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic. #L# "Minister Picula's statements are contrary to those given together by Presidents Mesic and Drnovsek. Until the Croatian political elite starts giving unequivocal messages, it will be difficult to talk, let alone reach an agreement with them," Kacin told the Slovene news agency STA on Monday. He added that the parliament's foreign policy committee would discuss relations with Croatia on Wednesday. Kacin said that Slovenia could have recalled its ambassador earlier, but had been hopeful that open issues could be settled in "a European manner". Slovene Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said he would give a public statement on relations with Croatia after Bekes's withdrawal this afternoon. The immediate cause of Slovenia's latest decision is Picula's statement in an interview with Sunday's issue of "Slobodna Dalmacija" daily that Slovenia does not have access to the open sea and that the agreement on the sea border, initialled in 2001, was never signed or ratified, and therefore has no legal effect. (hina) rml