Slovenian and Croatian prime ministers, Janez Jansa and Ivo Sanader, met briefly on Wednesday at the Obrezje border crossing as part of a Labour Day meeting organised by the unions. They stressed the need to build on mutual interests.
Jansa said after the meeting that the countries should follow the example of the trade unions from the two countries, which joined hands in hosting the meeting, instead of heeding calls against cooperation. Sanader added that friendship between the countries outweighed the differences in bilateral relations.
The two prime ministers addressed the cross-border meeting, organised by the Slovenian and Croatian trade union federations, the ZSSS and SSSH, whereupon they mixed with the trade unionists but held no bilateral talks.
Jansa said that following the trade unions' example does not mean that "problems would be solved on their own - a lot of work and patience will be required to close these issues in the future".
He believes that the European framework will greatly aid the countries in their efforts.
Sanader meanwhile said that Croatia would try to solve bilateral issues with Slovenia amicably and labelled today's meeting a step forward in the partnership between the nations.
Jansa assessed that the second meaningful attempt at settling the border issue is currently underway. "It would be good to give the experts time to work...I expect the attempt to be a success," Jansa responded to a question on third-party mediation in settling the border dispute.
Sanader said that the two countries agreed to seek third-party assistance. "The events are on course", he said and underlined the importance of the meeting of the Slovenian-Croatia commission on the border.
The meeting was also attended by Slovenian Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak and Labour Minister Marjeta Cotman as well as Croatian Economy Minister Damir Polancec.
More articles from this issue:
Archive
|