DRNOVSEK: ISSUE OF KRSKO POWER PLANT, BORDERS COULD BE SOLVE AS EARLY AS JULY

SALZBURG, July 2 (Hina) - Slovene Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek said in Salzburg on Monday he believed Croatia and Slovenia would solve the problem of the Krsko nuclear power plant and borders as early as July. Croatian President Stjepan Mesic and Slovene Prime Minister Drnovsek met on the margins of a European economic summit in Salzburg to discuss open issues between Croatia and Slovenia. Drnovsek told reporters after the talks the problem of the Krsko power plant was already solved in principle, with the technical part of the agreement being confirmed. Croatia and Slovenia have made much progress in talks on the borders and Slovenia plans to solve this problem with Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan as soon as possible, Drnovsek said. President Mesic said Croatia's and Slovenia's drawing closer to the European Union would automatically solve some issues, such as Slovenia's access to international waters and the Croatian- Italian border. Drnovsek said the two countries were building a very positive atmosphere, which "will reflect on cooperation in all other areas, too." As regards the problem of the savings deposits of Croatian depositors in the Ljubljanska Banka, Drnovsek said this issue should not be a problem and it should be resolved as part of succession to the former Yugoslavia and under the auspices of the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements as well as on the bilateral level. (hina) sb rml