The former Prime Minister of Slovenia and candidate in forthcoming presidential elections, Borut Pahor, said on Saturday that Croatia and Slovenia should settle their dispute over Croatian savings deposits with the now defunct Slovenian bank Ljubljanska Banka in the spirit of good neighbourliness.
"This is a time when we should act sincerely, as good neighbours, and in the spirit of trust," Slovenian media quoted Pahor as saying at a meeting of Slovenian and Croatian firefighters in a border area near the River Kupa.
Slovenian presidential elections are set for November 11.
Pahor said that the two countries should not unnecessarily complicate their relationship over the Ljubljanska Banka case, adding that the basis for the resolution of the issue was the agreement on succession to the former Yugoslavia.
The two sides should refrain from public statements on the dispute and thus avoid a similar situation and tensions that surrounded the border dispute, which was ended by the arbitration agreement, Pahor said.
Pahor led the Slovenian government from 2008 to 2011. He considers the border arbitration agreement, which he reached with his Croatian counterpart Jadranka Kosor, as the culmination of his foreign policy.
