CROATIAN AMBASSADOR TALKS AT PANEL IN LJUBLJANA

LJUBLJANA, Feb 4 (Hina) - Croatian Ambassador to Slovenia Ivica Mastruko on Wednesday said that the remaining open questions between Croatia and Slovenia could not endanger their overall relations, which were very good. The solution of those open questions will only contribute to the overall quality of relations between the two countries, Mastruko said at a panel discussion in Ljubljana, organised by the Slovene Society for International Relations. The open questions should be resolved with patience and mutual respect, Mastruko said adding that much time and effort had been invested in their resolution, although the public might have expected more significant progress. Asked about the borders between the two countries, Mastruko said Croatia had always understood the agreement on local border traffic and cooperation and its ratification as something that would facilitate living on both sides of the border and not as an instrument of prejudicing the border line (which is feared by some Slovenes). The state commissions for borders have already made significant progress by having defined most of the land border, he said. (hina) mm rml