July 12 (SeeNews) - Croatia's prime minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday his country will stand by its decision to ignore the arbitration ruling on its territorial dispute with Slovenia, recently delivered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
Following a meeting with his Slovenian counterpart Miro Cerar in Ljubljana, Plenkovic told a news conference that the arbitration process was irrevocably compromised. He added, however, that Croatia is ready to resolve the issue with Slovenia alone, away from the PCA ruling.
Miro Cerar told the media that the PCA ruling is final and binding for both countries, and a positive milestone in their relations. He noted that it is time for the two neighbouring countries to begin working on implementing the ruling.
"A decision based on this ruling is the best guarantee to avoid any tensions and incidents," Cerar said.
Plenkovic, however, reiterated that Croatia can not implement the ruling. He added that he has invited Cerar to visit Zagreb in September to continue the discussion on the border dispute and other open issues between the two countries.
This was the first meeting between Plenkovic and Cerar since the Netherlands-based PCA granted Slovenia access to the high sea and control over most of the contested Piran Gulf on June 29.
On November 4, 2009, the governments of Croatia and Slovenia signed an agreement to submit their territorial and maritime dispute to arbitration, after they were unable to resolve it themselves.
The PCA was called upon to determine the maritime and land boundary between Croatia and Slovenia, Slovenia’s junction to the high sea and the regime for the use of the relevant maritime areas.
The PCA is an independent intergovernmental organisation established by the 1899 Hague Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes.