Statement by Minister Pusić.
Asked about the response from the Basel Bank for International Settlements, Minister Pusić said: “As was stated in the last response to the former Croatian government, BIS does not think it can contribute to solving the issue, it can only offer a venue for us to meet. We do not need a venue; we can meet in Croatia or Slovenia, and have agreed that the next talks would be held in Croatia. We have our Memorandum which allows both countries to jointly request that procedures be halted for up to two years, which gives us room to find a solution and I am certain we will find it.”
In response to the question whether the Memorandum allowed for third-party arbitration, Pusić said: “According to what is stated in the Memorandum, no. The options are going to BIS or halting the procedures for two year. As far as we are concerned, and I believe the Slovenian side as well, we are willing to sit down and talk about the ways to find a solution. Now that BIS is not an option, we have enough time to find that solution. As far as I am concerned, it can be a form of mediation by a mediator both our financial experts agree on. That is not stated in the Memorandum, but we are more than willing to talk about it and continue looking for a solution to this unique issue of transferred savings.”
Asked about the (non-)competence of BIS, Pusić said that the letter stated BIS would not be getting involved in the issue in accordance with their own position, adding that both the Croatian and Slovenian side were willing to sit down and talk. “Minister Erjavec and I agreed to meet with our financial experts in October in Croatia.”