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International arbitration to solve Slovenia-Croatia border row

Oct 1, 2009, 14:36 GMT

Ljubljana - Slovenia and Croatia have decided to resolve their long-standing border dispute through international arbitration, Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor said Thursday. Pahor said that the two countries decided, behind closed doors, to let the arbitration commission resolve their dispute and that the European Commission will 'soon' present that agreement. Pahor, speaking to journalists in Ljubljana, did not give details of the agreement. 'I would not put my hand in the fire if I was not sure the agreement was a good one,' he said. The row dates back to 1991 and the breakup of then-Yugoslavia. Focusing on the northern Adriatic bay of Piran, the dispute has left Slovenia landlocked, the country's access to high seas cut off by Italy and Croatia. Slovenia, as an EU member state, has blocked Croatia's accession talks with Brussels. Three weeks ago Pahor and his Croatian counterpart, Jadranka Kosor, agreed to allow Croatia to continue its accession negotiations with the EU but did not elaborate on the details of the agreement they made on the border in the Piran bay. Zagreb is due on Friday to start a new round of talks with the EU, but Pahor did not want to comment on the possibility that the European Commission would present the agreement then.

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International arbitration to solve Slovenia-Croatia border row

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