SLOVENE NOTE ON TUDJMAN'S STATEMENT INAPPROPRIATE - MINISTRY

ZAGREB, Oct 28 (Hina) - Croatia believes that the Slovene note regarding a statement by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman regarding Piran Bay is inappropriate for the good relations between the two countries, the Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a statement in Zagreb on Thursday. An assistant to Croatia's Foreign Minister, Josko Paro, expressed surprise with the Slovene note regarding Tudjman's statement on Piran Bay to the charge d'affaires at the Slovene Embassy in Zagreb, Bogdan Benko, assessing the Slovene reaction as inappropriate, the statement read. "Namely, immediately after the press conference the Croatian President held on October 18, the Slovene side received the explanation it had demanded through an oral demarche and the explanation reiterated the unchanged stand of Croatia", the statement said. "Croatia therefore believes that the form and the intensity of the protest is inappropriate for the Croatian-Slovene relations and the achieved level of mutual understanding", Paro said. The Slovene Foreign Ministry on Wednesday stated that a note rejecting Tudjman's statement on Piran Bay had been handed to the Croatian Embassy in Ljubljana. (hina) rml