INCLUDING SAVINGS INVESTMENTS IN SUCCESSION UNACCEPTABLY FOR SLOVENIA

LJUBLJANA, May 22 (Hina) - Including the problem of foreign exchange savings in the agreement on succession of seccesor countries of the former Yugoslavia is unacceptable for Slovenia because it has been suggested that banks should be returning the savings notwithstanding the territorial principle, a Slovene government representative at the negotiations on succession, Miran Mejak told Ljubljana's daily "Dnevnik". He assessed that insisting on the present suggestion on the way of returning the savings investments could plug the current talks on succession in Vienna, which relate to the entire former Yugoslavia's property. "The suggestion is that the savings in banks would be returned notwithstanding where the bank was situated. We deem this unfair and we insist on the territorial principle. Slovenia would take over the responsibility for clients in Slovenia, but the National Bank of Yugoslavia should take care of the rest, as it guaranteed for the savings investments," Mejak said. "If the National Bank of Yugoslavia does not have sufficient funds, it could pay off a part of the investments, and the rest will be subject to a mutual agreement," he added. He expressed Slovenia's readiness to initiate the remaining parts of the draft succession agreement, but not the part pertaining to the savings. (hina) lml