LJUBLJANA, Sept 1 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula's claims that Slovenia does not have access to the open sea and that a border agreement between the two countries is legally invalid are "unacceptable", Picula's
Slovene counterpart Dimitrij Rupel said on Monday.
LJUBLJANA, Sept 1 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino
Picula's claims that Slovenia does not have access to the open sea
and that a border agreement between the two countries is legally
invalid are "unacceptable", Picula's Slovene counterpart Dimitrij
Rupel said on Monday. #L#
Speaking to reporters in Ljubljana to explain why Slovenia had
recalled its ambassador to Croatia for consultations, Rupel said
Picula's claims were unacceptable for Slovenia and could easily
lead to a real deterioration of relations.
Ljubljana said late on Sunday it had recalled Peter Bekes "for
consultations" in the wake of the claims Picula made in Slobodna
Dalmacija.
In an interview with the newspaper, Picula said Slovenia did not
have access to the open sea and that a 2001 border deal between the
two countries' prime ministers was not legally valid, since it had
been neither signed nor ratified.
"Slovenia did have such access in the past. It's a right it has
always exercised and never renounced," Rupel said today.
As for the border accord, he said that if Croatia were to cancel it,
it "would lose the basis for claiming the recognition of any rights
pertaining to the sea border".
Rupel said he did not accept views assuming in advance that Croatia
had rights in the name of which the rights of the other successors of
the former Yugoslavia should be restricted.
The minister reiterated other claims Slovenia made in recent notes
to Croatia to the effect that they are equal with regard to the
Adriatic Sea and access to international waters. He warned that due
to the latest developments, Slovenia might "reconsider" its
support to Croatia's accession to the European Union and NATO.
"The policy Croatia's foreign minister advocates in the interview
raises doubts that Croatia is a country which wishes to contribute
to regional security and stability," Rupel said, adding that he
hoped Croatia too would "reconsider Slovene-Croatian and Croatian-
European relations".
Rupel said Slovenia had strongly reinforced its position in recent
years, "surpassing all the countries on the territory of the former
Yugoslavia", and would join the EU and NATO next May.
"We expect of all the countries, Croatia included, to act in keeping
with Eurointegration standards, primarily in the spirit of border
friendship and cooperation," Rupel said.
(hina) ha sb