Plenkovic: We don't want any unilateral moves after border arbitration ruling

Croatia does not want any unilateral moves after the Permanent Court of Arbitration announces its ruling on the Croatia-Slovenia border dispute next week, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in Brussels on Friday.

"It is important to say that we do not want any unilateral activities after the ruling is announced and I have discussed this with my Slovenian counterpart Miro Cerar and many of my counterparts in the European Council. Some of them are less sensitised to this matter and some more," Plenkovic told the press after an EU summit.

Cerar used the two-day summit to strongly lobby for support for Slovenia's position that the arbitration ruling on the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia must be complied with.

Plenkovic said that Croatia's position had not changed and would remain firm after June 29 when the ruling is announced.

"The arbitration process is compromised and contaminated and we have withdrawn from it based on the unanimous resolution of the Croatian Parliament. We have made the relevant notifications and are no longer a party to it," Plenkovic said.

The Croatian prime minister said that he remained open to dialogue with Slovenia, adding that the border issue had to be resolved eventually, but not through the arbitration ruling.

"Our position has been quite clear all along. We have no doubts about it, regardless of anyone else's views. We have international law, the situation is clear and we're not giving up or budging an inch," he said.

Asked if he expected Croatia to come under pressure from European partners, Plenkovic said that he too agreed that decisions by international courts and arbitration tribunals should be respected, "but only when everything is clear and fair".

"When the activity of the court was absolutely contrary to international law, the procedure was violated and there was illegal activity. Any ruling made on the basis of illegal action can have no consequences for Croatia and we made that clear two years ago. An abstract general principle is one thing, while this specific case is another, and that's the difference," Plenkovic said.

He said that the border dispute remained a bilateral issue and added that it was important before and after the ruling was announced to maintain the atmosphere of calm as much as possible and seek a solution through dialogue between the two countries.

Text: Hina

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