Milanovic says Croatia-Slovenia relations entering calmer waters

Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic and his Slovenian counterpart Alenka Bratusek on Saturday held an informal meeting in the Croatian Adriatic resort of Opatija and on that occasion the Slovenian premier congratulated Croatia on its upcoming accession to the European Union, underscoring that Croatia has undergone tough process.

Addressing the press after their talks, Milanovic said that this was one in a series of their bilateral meetings and added that the relations between Croatia and Slovenia "are slowly but surely sailing into calmer waters".

He went on to say that Croatia and Slovenia had to cooperate notably in economic activities in order to survive and develop further and that they had much in common.

"What is behind us is behind us. We have learnt much and will do our best to prevent such things from recurring," he added.

Absolutely, the only right way is cooperation and dialogue, Slovenia's PM said adding that in the coming period there will be many occasions for talks on political and economic bilateral cooperation.

In response to the accusations from the Slovenian public that blamed her cabinet for the sale of Slovenia's leading retailer Mercator to the Croatian private group Agrokor, Bratusek said that it was the previous government that sold the company and that companies with a stock in Mercator were those that were selling the retailer. She also ruled out her interference in those processes.

Milanovic believes that Croatia and Slovenia can draw benefits from that transaction if it is successfully performed. He also said that there was no need for reactions emotionally charged along ethnic lines.

As for remarks from the State Department human trafficking report which criticises Croatia for being an area of transit for sex tourism and trafficking, Milanovic responded that it was a report from the State Department and Croatia was a sovereign country which was why, he said, there was no need for comments.

Croatia is an excellent ally of the USA and is soon becoming a member of the European Union, and is within the EU average when it comes to the rule of law, he added.

(Hina)



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