CRO FOREIGN MINISTER WILL NOT ATTEND CRO-SLOVENE MEETING IN IZOLA

ZAGREB, Jan 5 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula will not attend a meeting of Croatian and Slovene politicians to be held in Slovenia's Izola on Sunday, organised by the Association of Istrian Friendship (DIP), deputy spokeswoman of the Croatian Foreign Ministry Miona Sevcik told Hina Friday. The Slovene News Agency (STA), on Friday morning reported that Croatia had not yet sent an official confirmation to Ljubljana on Minister Picula's arrival in Izola. Sevcik said Croatia was contacting the organisers of the meeting directly and not with the official Ljubljana regarding the meeting. Croatia forwarded a letter to the DIP welcoming the initiative for cooperation at the local level, Sevcik said, adding that a representative of the Croatian Foreign Ministry would attend the meeting, however, not the minister himself. Croatia believes that open issues between Zagreb and Ljubljana should be solved in the already agreed way, namely at an expert level and then ministers level and finally at the level of prime ministers. The deputy spokeswoman of the Croatian Foreign Ministry could not confirm whether Picula's assistant Josko Paro would attend the meeting in Izola. DIP president and Slovene politician Egidije Krajcar intended to organise a Croatian-Slovene meeting of prime ministers, foreign and interior ministers, and European integration ministers of the two countries. The meeting aims at assisting an accelerated solving of open issues between the two countries. Slovene Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel on Thursday said he was ready to attend the meeting should his Croatian counterpart attend the meeting as well. (hina) it