ZAGREB, March 6 (Hina) - Two disputes with Bosnia on the Adriatic coast are close to resolution, Prime Minister Ivica Racan said Wednesday. After meeting with Zlatko Lagumdzija, chairman of the Bosnian Council of Ministers in Zagreb,
Racan said the two countries will start talks on Thursday. The two sides will attempt to harmonise a protocol which is an addition to an agreement on the southern Croatian port of Ploce and a passage through the southern Bosnian town of Neum. The protocol is an annex to the agreement which stipulates that all possible disputes be solved primarily through direct contacts and only then, if necessary, through arbitration, Racan said at a joint press conference. "I am pleased to say we will take off the agenda this long-open issue, the ratification of the Ploce Port Agreement. As early as tomorrow, we will start harmonising the protocol, after which it should be ratified in the
ZAGREB, March 6 (Hina) - Two disputes with Bosnia on the Adriatic
coast are close to resolution, Prime Minister Ivica Racan said
Wednesday.
After meeting with Zlatko Lagumdzija, chairman of the Bosnian
Council of Ministers in Zagreb, Racan said the two countries will
start talks on Thursday. The two sides will attempt to harmonise a
protocol which is an addition to an agreement on the southern
Croatian port of Ploce and a passage through the southern Bosnian
town of Neum.
The protocol is an annex to the agreement which stipulates that all
possible disputes be solved primarily through direct contacts and
only then, if necessary, through arbitration, Racan said at a joint
press conference.
"I am pleased to say we will take off the agenda this long-open
issue, the ratification of the Ploce Port Agreement. As early as
tomorrow, we will start harmonising the protocol, after which it
should be ratified in the parliament and the agreement
implemented," Racan said.
The Bosnian prime minister and his Croatian counterpart said both
sides compromised on some disputed issues. Croatia decided to
withdraw measures which ban any transport of oil and oil products by
road over the Licko Petrovo Selo border crossing. Bosnia withdrew a
demand that the port of Ploce agreement be ratified in the
parliament in order to pass the additional protocol. The two
premiers said the issue was not about exchanging favors but mutual
understanding and a wish that problems be solved.
Racan and Lagumdzija expressed satisfaction with the talks in
Zagreb. The Croatian prime minister said they agreed to strengthen
cooperation in combating smuggling and international crime, which
drains both countries' budgets. Racan and Lagumdzija said their
countries will establish a joint plan of attack on these problems,
but did not discuss it in detail.
The Croatian premier said that bridges at the Croatian-Bosnian
border crossings will be opened before month's end. Lagumdzija said
there were "more bridges that connect us," primarily those in
Mostar and Brcko.
"The list of problems has turned into a list of solutions," the
chairman of the Bosnian Council of Ministers said and expressed
hope the Croatia-Bosnia relations would be only on an ascending
line.
(hina) it sb