CROATIA & SLOVENIA START TALKS ON INTER-STATE AGREEMENT

( Editorial: --> 1125 ) LJUBLJANA, Sept 17 (Hina) - The heads of the Croatian and Slovene negotiating teams, in charge of preparing an inter-state agreement on the status of Krsko nuclear power plant, held their first meeting in Ljubljana on Thursday. The two teams, headed by the Croatian and Slovene government representatives Roman Nota and Uros Korza respectively, considered practical organisational questions in the negotiation process and agreed on methods and technical and other elements of their future cooperation in drawing-up the agreement. Discussed was also the dynamics of talks. Nota and Korza agreed for Croatia to organise the first plenary session of authorised negotiating teams. The nuclear power plant Krsko is located on the Slovene territory but is jointly owned (50:50) by Croatia and Slovenia. However, following the declaration of their independence, the two countries failed to ratify agreements on the plant. The mounting disagreement over the price of electricity and management of the plant culminated on July 30, when Slovenia cut off power supply to Croatia and declared the once jointly-owned plant a public company. Croatian and Slovene representatives discussed this problem on August 25 in Mokrice, Slovenia. The two sides agreed then to try and find a solution within a period of three months, and if they failed to do so, to seek international arbitration. Today's meeting in Ljubljana was held in line with that agreement. (hina) jn rml 171950 MET sep 98