Speaking on national television on Monday, Rupel said the collection of documents issued by the Foreign Ministry earlier in the day offered a start for new dialogue with Croatia.
He said the White Paper presented arguments to the effect that before gaining independence Slovenia controlled the entire Piran Bay, had access to the high seas, governed 133 hectares of land south of Dragonja river, and that after becoming independent Croatia unilaterally changed the state of affairs encountered on the day of independence from the former Socialist Yugoslavia.
Rupel said Slovenia decided to issue the White Paper six months ago. He recalled that Croatia and Slovenia last year signed an agreement on the avoidance of incidents and that Slovenia decided to issue the White Paper after complications with the agreement.
Commenting on Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader's statement about the White Paper, Rupel said Croatia was more inclined towards closing the border issue through arbitration whereas Slovenia felt differently.
"With arbitration Croatia would like to get rid of the burden which (the border issue) will pose in negotiations with the European Union. We, on the other hand, feel the time of Croatia's negotiations with the EU is ideal to close the issue," he said.