ZAGREB, SARAJEVO DISCUSSING OIL TRANSPORT

SARAJEVO, Feb 8 (Hina) - Representatives of Croatia and Bosnia- Herzegovina are conducting intensive negotiations in order to find the best possible solution to the problem of oil transport, Bosnian Foreign Ministry spokesman Amer Kapetanovic confirmed on Friday. Addressing a press conference in Sarajevo, Kapetanovic said the two countries had the same goal - eliminating the cause of the current dispute. The Croatian side has made it clear that the cause is the black market and Bosnia-Herzegovina has been facing the same problem, he said. He recalled that Croatian and Bosnian Prime Ministers Ivica Racan and Zlatko Lagumdzija last week agreed over the phone that the two countries should cooperate in order to eliminate oil smuggling. "This problem is being intensively discussed," he said. Commenting on a recent statement by Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula that some Bosnian officials showed "a little too much fighting spirit" in the talks, Kapetanovic said the Bosnian authorities were not aggressive but were simply taking those measures that were at their disposal. "We respect Croatia's integrity and its right to determine road corridors (for oil transport), but Bosnia-Herzegovina, too, has the right to determine border crossings for oil imports," Kapetanovic said. Kapetanovic reminded that there were other open issues between the two countries as well, such as the southern Croatian port of Ploce. "Oil is not the only problem. We want the Croatian parliament to ratify the agreement on Ploce in line with conclusions adopted at the last session of the BH-Croatia Council for Cooperation," Kapetanovic said. The Bosnian Foreign Ministry has not commented yet on reports regarding the introduction of new excise taxes on high-tariff imports from Croatia. Kapetanovic said one should wait for the final decision of the Bosnian Council of Ministers on this issue, which is currently being dealt with by the Bosnian Foreign Trade Ministry. The Council of Ministers should discuss draft new excise taxes and regulations on the quality of oil imports next week. (hina) rml .