13 Dec 2010

WikiLeaks sheds new light on Slovenia-Croatia deal?

The Slovenian Opposition has continued challenging Prime Minister Borut Pahor's position that the border arbitration agreement with Croatia is a great success of his foreign policy, and following the publication of secret documents on the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, some Opposition leaders have said that papers on Slovenia show the government's servility in foreign affairs, all of which sheds new light on the deal between Pahor and Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor.
Slovenian People's Party (SLS) leader Radovan Zerjav said in a statement on Wednesday that he wondered why the arbitration agreement with Croatia took effect on Monday, immediately after it was announced that WikiLeaks would make public U.S. diplomatic messages, including reports made by U.S. diplomats in Slovenia.

"After being postponed for several months, the exchange of diplomatic notes (between Slovenia and Croatia) on the arbitration agreement was carried out suddenly late last week," Zerjav said, adding that the publication of documents might shed new light on the deal.

Earlier this week, after a report on communication between Pahor and the U.S. charge d'affaires Bradley Freden were published by the U.S. web site, Zerjav criticised Pahor for pursuing a "servile policy" towards the USA.

The report shows that Washington was involved in efforts to settle the border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia and that the USA advocated the unblocking of Croatia's accession negotiations with the EU throughout 2009.

Also on Wednesday, Pahor dismissed the criticism, adding that historians would judge the agreement and that "filigree-style" diplomatic efforts were invested in the agreement.

He ruled out a worsening of relations with Croatia following the document leak.