CROATIA'S MESIC, SLOVENIA'S RUPEL TALK RELATIONS, INTEGRATION, SUMMIT

ZAGREB, June 18 (Hina) - Croatian President Stipe Mesic and Slovene Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel held talks in Zagreb on Monday, tackling bilateral relations, integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions, and last weekend's U.S.-Russian summit in Slovenia. The two officials met on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Croatia's and Slovenia's independence from the former Yugoslav federation. The occasion was marked at Zagreb's Intercontinental Hotel with a panel, "Ten Years After," which was organised by the Croatian-Slovene Friendship Society. "We held talks on mutual relations and the speed and pace of European association, as well as the Putin-Bush summit," Mesic told reporters ahead of the panel. Rupel added the talks also tackled the friendship between Croatia and Slovenia, and the recent Ljubljana and Goeteborg summits. Asked to comment on Russian President Vladimir Putin's suggestion for an international conference on Southeast Europe which would confirm the inviolability of borders, the Slovene foreign minister said: "As far as we are concerned, it is still too soon for such a conference." Preparations for a conference of this kind should be extensive, "we should know what we want and what is the goal," he said. Speaking about borders, President Mesic said: "I think we have Helsinki and if such a conference would confirm what Helsinki concluded, then it makes sense, otherwise I don't know how and what should be further discussed. Helsinki actually said everything, but some perhaps suffer from amnesia so it ought to be reiterated." (hina) ha