FM Kovač: Croatia will not attend arbitration hearing

(Hina) - Croatia has withdrawn from the arbitration process and will not attend the hearing scheduled for this week, Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miro Kovač said in Brussels on Monday

(Hina) - Croatia has withdrawn from the arbitration process and will not attend the hearing scheduled for this week, Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miro Kovač said in Brussels on Monday.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration has scheduled a new oral hearing for Thursday in connection with the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia, the Hague-based court announced on Monday. The hearing will be held in closed session and the parties will each have several hours to present their views. Croatia was invited to do so in the morning and Slovenia in the afternoon.

"Croatia's position is well known. Croatia withdrew from the arbitration based on a Croatian Parliament resolution, and that is no longer relevant for us," Kovač told the press, adding that Croatia would not attend the hearing.

Croatia will seek a solution through bilateral negotiations with Slovenia in accordance with international law, he added.

"I will soon travel to Slovenia for a friendly visit and will meet with Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec and President Borut Pahor to discuss Croatian-Slovenian relations, which are very well developed, friendly and neighbourly. We will certainly find with our Slovenian friends a solution based on international law and on bilateral negotiations," Kovač said. "We will find a solution in the spirit of good neighbourly and friendly relations between Croatia and Slovenia."

Kovač was in Brussels for a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

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