Prime Minister Andrej Plenković stated on Thursday that the project for the construction of the Pelješac Bridge is moving forward and that dialogue with neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina on this issue continues. He also mentioned that Croatia is ready for dialogue with Slovenia regarding open border issues.
“Once again, I want to convey to our friends in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian public, especially in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, that the project connecting the south of Croatia with the rest of the country is moving forward,” said the Prime Minister at a government session.
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– The bridge will be built, dialogue with Bosnia and Herzegovina continues, and we discussed this at the session of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina in early July in Sarajevo, he said.
The Prime Minister emphasized that everything Croatia does is in accordance with international law. “The bridge will be built in the territory of the internal waters of the Republic of Croatia, which are indisputably Croatian and which, under any aspect of the application of international law, can only and always be Croatian,” he stressed.
At the same time, according to international law, safe passage through Croatian maritime space will be guaranteed for all ships sailing to and from Neum, the Prime Minister added, reminding that the technical specifications of the bridge will be “as suggested by the Bosnian side ten years ago.”
– Therefore, this is a question that should not be politicized. This is a question that is beneficial for both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia and, we can freely say, the European Union, he asserted.
The Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bakir Izetbegović, stated several times this month that Bosnia and Herzegovina officially opposes the construction of the Pelješac Bridge until disputes regarding maritime delimitation with Croatia and access to the open sea are resolved. However, parties with Croatian and Serbian affiliations disagree with him, asserting that Croatia has the right to build the bridge on its territory.
Plenković also mentioned that government services are preparing for his meeting with Slovenian colleague Miro Cerar, which will take place in September in Zagreb.
He reiterated that Croatia does not recognize the decision of the Arbitration Court regarding disputed border issues on land and at sea, but emphasized that Croatia is ready to discuss these matters with the Slovenian side, as well as other open issues that have burdened relations between the two countries over the past 25 years.
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This is a sensitive topic, the Prime Minister added, assessing that it is already a significant success that it has not provoked any major reactions in either the Croatian public or in the media and political scene.
– This means that the way we conduct discussions, the way we communicated with our fishermen a few days ago, with representatives of local authorities, and the contacts that are being made at the diplomatic level, are mature and serious. We will address this open issue in a neighborly manner, in the spirit of the relationships we cultivate between Croatia and Slovenia. And we will find a long-term solution that both countries will support, and I believe the political institutions of Croatia and Slovenia will as well,” he concluded.
