Eurasia Press & News
Croatian President Stjepan Mesic told the Austrian Ö1 Radio that Croatia has offered an agreement on accessing the open sea to Slovenia, which Ljubljana has been demanding from the start, Slovene Dnevnik reports.
Mesic explained that he meant the option of Slovene ships passing through Croatian territorial waters to the open sea unobstructed, which Slovenia has at the moment, in accordance with international law.
Mesic also dismissed the idea of a mediating group in the Slovene-Croatian border dispute, as European Union expansion commissioner Olli Rehn proposed its establishment. He reiterated that Croatia maintains with the necessity of solving the border dispute within the framework of international law.
– The court has to solve the dispute. Politicians cannot draw the borders. Politicians of both countries failed at that, thus foreign politicians would fail also – Mesic said, having former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari in mind, who is supposed to head this group.
The Slovene party points out it will fight for direct exit to the open sea.
Although yesterday`s meeting of Croatian and Slovene foreign ministers with EU expansion commissioner Olli Rehn was postponed, because Croatia`s response to Rehn`s latest proposal has not yet reached the Commission, the Croatian Foreign Affairs Ministry is optimistic that the new meeting will be held the next week already.
