DRNOVSEK: ADMISSION TO NATO STRENGTHENS SLOVENIA'S POSITION IN RELATIONS WITH CROATIA

LJUBLJANA, Nov 30 (Hina) - Slovene Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek said on Friday that admission to NATO would strengthen Slovenia's position in relations with Croatia and that NATO saw Slovenia as a stabilising factor in the Balkans and South-East Europe. #L# Drnovsek spoke about the effect of admission to NATO on Slovenia's position in talks on open questions with Croatia in a TV debate with Barbara Brezigar, his rival in a Sunday presidential vote. "No one will say that directly, but we will certainly be stronger, in the political sense, too, as a NATO member. We will also have political influence in the alliance, which will be definitely much stronger than it would be if we stayed outside NATO," Drnovsek said. Speaking about the jointly owned nuclear power plant Krsko, Drnovsek said he advocated the purchase of Croatia's share in the plant, however, Croatia's response to Slovenia's bid price was "unrealistic". Drnovsek explained that Slovenia would offer a much lower price if it was to buy the Croatian part of the plant and accept the costs of radioactive waste management. (hina) rml