 The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, today received the President of the Republic of Croatia, Stjepan Mesić, on his official visit to Slovenia, this also being Mr Mesić's farewell visit upon the expiry of his term of office. After being received with military honours, the two presidents had a brief one-on-one meeting, followed by plenary talks between the delegation of the Republic of Slovenia and the delegation of the Republic of Croatia, led by Dr Türk and Mr Mesić, respectively.
President Türk emphasised that the official visit of the Croatian President coincides with the process of improvement of bilateral relations justifiably giving rise to optimism regarding future cooperation. Dr Türk thanked President Mesić for his large contribution to neighbourly relations between the two countries and for good cooperation with three Slovenian presidents. Although we may be quite satisfied with past achievements, it is, according to Dr Türk, nevertheless proper to look into the future with a sense of creativity. He went on to say that, to this end, the advice of President Mesić, as a politician with valuable experience, will be useful in the future. |
 The Croatian President assessed the cooperation between Slovenia and Croatia as good. Moreover, he expressed his satisfaction with the signing of the arbitration agreement on the settlement of the border dispute, which contributed to the soothing of political tensions. According to President Mesić, the remaining bilateral open issues, such as the issue of the Krško nuclear power plant and the issue of payment of savings deposited in the former Ljubljanska Banka to Croatian savers, can now also be resolved in a peaceful atmosphere and in the spirit of tolerance. He emphasised that the evolution of friendship between Slovenia and Croatia has also had a soothing effect on other countries in the region.
Dr Türk assessed the arbitration agreement as a solid legal framework facilitating the settlement of the border dispute. He highlighted the positive contribution of the European Commission, which through its initiative and intervention in finding a solution had gone beyond its usual working framework. President Türk assessed that all former attempts to settle the border issue had yielded good results. He went on to say that public opinion on this issue confirms the fact that people in Slovenia and Croatia have many more reasons to cooperate that to intensify tensions.
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 The two presidents supported the agreement of the Slovenian and Croatian prime ministers on the establishment of a mixed bilateral commission to deal with open issues between the two countries. They both called for the improvement of economic cooperation and joint activity in third markets. Dr Türk and Mr Mesić also touched upon the recent Croatian presidential elections, with President Mesić emphasising that the elections were carried out in compliance with democratic standards. He expressed his strong belief that the newly-elected Croatian President, Dr Ivo Josipović, would further contribute to Croatia's orientation towards the EU. According to Dr Türk, the elections in Croatia clearly reaffirmed the country's European orientation and its commitment to the principles of human rights and the rule of law. |
 Dr Türk and his guest also discussed the situation in the Western Balkans. President Mesić called for the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and warned of the consequences of destabilisation of this country. He went on to point out that the granting of the NATO Membership Action Plan could represent an important gesture towards stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He suggested that by way of joint action within the international community, Slovenia and Croatia should cooperate in drafting proposals to improve the situation in this country. |
 The two presidents also touched on relations between Serbia and Kosovo. Mr Mesić emphasised that the resolution of political issues depends on the prospects of joining Euro-Atlantic structures, while President Türk spoke in favour of the idea of organising a regional conference, which could be helpful in finding creative solutions to improve the situation in the region.
The President of the Republic of Slovenia and the President of the Republic of Croatia closed their meeting by attending an event organised by the Slovenian-Croatian Society. |