The Slovenian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a Croatian proposal on Tuesday that the two countries should approach the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel to settle their dispute over foreign exchange savings accounts held by Croatian depositors in the now defunct Slovenian bank Ljubljanska Banka, but the Slovenian Embassy in Zagreb issued a statement on the matter, Slovenian media said.
Croatia put forward a formal proposal to Slovenia on Tuesday that the two countries approach BIS together in efforts to settle their long-standing dispute over the Ljubljanska Banka issue, a spokeswoman for the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs confirmed.
As regards the Croatian proposal, Slovenia expects Croatia to honour its commitments, Slovenian news agency STA quoted the Slovenian Embassy in Zagreb as saying in a statement.
The statement noted that a letter which former Croatian Finance Minister Ivan Suker had sent to BIS "contains a clear commitment on the part of the Republic of Croatia that talks on the issue of guarantees for the foreign exchange deposits of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will continue within BIS."
According to STA, Slovenia continues to expect the Croatian government to withdraw its powers of attorney to the Croatian banks Zagrebacka Banka and Privredna Banka Zagreb for lawsuits against Ljubljanska Banka before Croatian courts as such powers were granted in violation of Croatia's international commitments.
"Slovenia wants not just to negotiate but also to solve the problem, and that is why it expects the issue of the disputable powers of attorney also to be discussed at a meeting of financial experts for Ljubljanska Banka France Arhar and Zdravko Rogic next Thursday," the statement said, adding that Slovenia believes that it is possible to find a solution to mutual benefit.
