Our messages to Croatia and Slovenia are identical. They should find a compromise, Mussomeli told Ljubljana's Dnevnik daily of Saturday in response to the remark that US officials' statements that Slovenia should ratify Croatia's EU accession treaty could be understood as pressure on Slovenia, which is making the ratification conditional on the Ljubljanska Banka issue, to which a mutually acceptable solution has not been found yet.

Our message is that a compromise should be found, Mussomeli said, adding that Slovenia should realise that the possible absence of a timely solution put it in a difficult situation.

If Croatia doesn't join the European Union on July 1, it will be a disaster or, at the very least, a very unfortunate situation for Croatia, for Slovenia and for the entire European Union, he said, adding that the US views on that were equally firm with regard to both Slovenia and Croatia.

The ambassador commented on expectations regarding a solution to the bank dispute and Croatia-Slovenia relations also in Maribor's Vecer daily of Saturday.

The issue in the relations with Croatia represents anther argument against solving the political crisis in Slovenia with early elections, he said, as such an outcome might prevent a timely ratification of the Croatia-EU treaty in the Slovenian parliament.

As for the role of the US diplomacy in Ljubljana-Zagreb relations, Mussomeli said the US now advised and encouraged both sides to solve the bank issue in time and make it possible for Croatia to join the EU on July 1. He added, however, that the US diplomacy was not involved in this as it was in the efforts that had led to the border arbitration agreement between Croatia and Slovenia.

He said Ljubljanska Banka was a complex issue and that it would be better if the EU became involved.