SARAJEVO: HOW TO SETTLE LJUBLJANSKA BANK ISSUE?

SARAJEVO, April 30 (Hina) - Finding a solution to the Ljubljanska Bank issue does not depend solely on the political will of Slovenia, but the other successor states to the ex-Yugoslavia as well, Slovene parliamentary president Borut Pahor said in Sarajevo on Tuesday. #L# Talking to reporters after meeting a delegation of the Bosnian Council of Ministers, Pahor said Slovenia wished the issue of Ljubljanska Bank's debt to depositors on ex-Yugoslavia's territory were settled as soon as possible. He added, however, that this could not be achieved without the cooperation of all interested parties. Pahor reiterated Slovenia's stand that the issue of the Ljubljanska Bank foreign deposits had to be settled as part of succession to ex- Yugoslavia's property. Bosnia's Treasury Minister Ante Domazet told reporters after meeting Pahor he did not think the Ljubljanska Bank issue would be settled that way. The succession proceedings being held with the mediation of the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements do not provide an optimal solution for the issue, he explained. "We will seek new solutions," he said. Bosnia's authorities agree with Croatia as regards the foreign deposits in Ljubljanska Bank and demand that Slovenia clear the debt. They mention the case of Croatia's Splitska Bank, which paid out savings to depositors from Bosnia, thus showing the problem can be settled if there is genuine will to do it. Official Sarajevo objects to a proposal made during succession negotiations to have foreign deposits made at the time of the ex- Yugoslavia paid out from a special solidarity fund of the successor states. Such a project is not viable from a practical point of view, the Bosnian authorities maintain. (hina) ha sb