SLOVENE POLITICIAN ON DEPOSITS OF CRO CLIENTS AT LJUBLJANSKA BANKA

LJUBLJANA, Jan 12 (Hina) - The savings of individual depositors at Ljubljanska Banka branches in Zagreb and Sarajevo are not lost but frozen, and when the time comes depositors will be given not only the capital sum but the appropriate interest as well, the head of the Slovene parliamentary committee on foreign policy, Jelko Kacin, said on Friday. Kacin did not, however, say when depositors could expect the payment of their deposits and interest, that is, when this problem, which has been burdening Croatian-Slovene relations, will be resolved. Kacin was speaking in a Slovene radio broadcast about economic and political relations in the area of former Yugoslavia at the request of Slovene business people who expect the Slovene state to resolve the problem of the deposits with the aim of promoting economic cooperation and eliminating the dispute which has been burdening relations among Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina for a decade. Kacin, an influential politician from the Party of Liberal Democrats (LDS), led by Slovene Premier Janez Drnovsek, recalled that problems with Ljubljanska Banka started the moment the bank was prevented from operating in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. He added the interests of the largest Slovene bank could not "be sacrificed" for the sake of winning the inclination of those countries. He announced only partial state support for the expansion of Slovene companies in south-east Europe, adding they would have to face business risks alone. (hina) rml