Politics

Croatian Foreign Minister on Migrant Crisis and Relations with Slovenia

By 21 November 2016

Croatia has sent a diplomatic note to Slovenia due to construction of border fence on Croatian territory.

Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Davor Ivo Stier said on Monday that Croatia has sent a diplomatic note to Slovenia due to construction of border fence along the Čabranka river, on the territory which is considered to be part of Croatia, reports Večernji List on November 21, 2016.

“As soon as we learned of this, we sent a diplomatic note to the Slovenian side. Since we have not received an answer, we will raise the issue to the ministerial level”, said Stier to reporters in Zagreb. “I will not prejudge the outcome of that discussion, but Croatian public and the government will be informed about the results”, said Stier.

A few days ago, Slovenian side started constructing border fence along the Čabranka river, near the villages of Plešce and Zamost, close to the town of Čabar. Locals claim that parts of the fence have been constructed on the Croatian territory.

Responding to a question about a possible new wave of refugees coming to Croatia and the rest of Europe, Stier said that it was crucial to have an open dialogue with Turkey because it is vitally important to address this challenge.

“What is important is the cooperation with neighbouring countries that used to be part of the so-called Balkan route. It is important that this route is now closed in order to combat human trafficking, to control borders, to fulfil all the obligations we have under international law, but also to ensure the safety of our citizens”, said Stier, stressing once again that cooperation between the European Union and Turkey was the key, as well as the control of the border between Turkey and Greece.

He also expressed his confidence that candidates from the European People's Party, Angela Merkel in Germany and the winner of conservative primaries in France (Francois Fillon or Alain Juppe) would win the elections that will take place next year in these countries, which he considers to be important for the future of Europe.

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