ZAGREB, Sep 3 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula believes that a meeting with his Slovene counterpart Dimitrij Rupel would not bring any results in the current situation burdened with incidents. In a letter to Rupel,
Picula nevertheless reiterated that Croatia was open to dialogue with the Slovene side in order to find a mutually acceptable solution to the problems that have accumulated between the two countries.
ZAGREB, Sep 3 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula
believes that a meeting with his Slovene counterpart Dimitrij Rupel
would not bring any results in the current situation burdened with
incidents. In a letter to Rupel, Picula nevertheless reiterated
that Croatia was open to dialogue with the Slovene side in order to
find a mutually acceptable solution to the problems that have
accumulated between the two countries. #L#
The letter to Rupel was in response to a letter he sent on Monday and
was delivered to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday by Slovenia's
Ambassador in Zagreb, Andrej Bekes.
In a press release Minister Picula released sections of Rupel's
letter.
Referring to the case of Jozko Joras, Minister Picula emphasised
that Joras had been taken into custody for violations that were
punishable in Slovenia as well. In that context, he pointed out that
no-one had denounced the acts that had brought Joras to the position
he is in now.
In regard the Piran Bay dispute, Minister Picula said that
permanent presence of Slovene fishing-boats in waters across the
middle of the bay did not help the calming of the situation, even
prior to the implementation of a cross-border agreement in
commercial fishing.
Speaking about direct talks with the Slovene minister, Picula said
that "in the environment of incidental situations that are
currently burdening your attempts to internationalise just some
segments in our relations, I am not sure that a meeting would give
results," Picula said.
In his letter to Dimitrij Rupel, Picula said that Croatia would call
relevant international legal institutions to co-operation to
"assist in resolving the conflict of much greater significance
towards all round stability and not only ours but the overall
relations in this obviously still unrestful part of Europe."
In its statement, the Croatian Foreign Ministry said that Minister
Picula on Tuesday signed a letter that Croatia's Ambassador to the
Permanent Mission with the Council of Europe, Neven Madey, will
deliver on Wednesday to the Secretary-General of the Council of
Europe, Walter Schwimmer. The letter is Croatia's response to a
letter by Slovene Foreign Minister Rupel sent to the Council of
Europe objecting to the actions by the Croatian government in the
Joras case.
(hina) sp it sb