New negotiations on the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia would not be productive, so Slovenia insists on the implementation of the arbitration ruling, Slovenian Foreign Minister Miro Cerar told reporters during a visit to Washington on Friday.

“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was grateful that I clearly explained our position. A return to negotiations with Croatia would not be productive,” Cerar said after meeting with Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton at the State Department.

Slovenia’s previous government, led by Cerar filed a lawsuit against Croatia before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) earlier this year, saying Croatia was in breach of EU law by refusing to implement the arbitration ruling reached in June 2017.

The new cabinet, confirmed in September and led by Prime Minister Sarec of the centre-left LMS party, has maintained that stance.

Refusal to implement the arbitration ruling means “ignoring international law”, which is bad for the whole Western Balkans region, Cerar said.

“We hear ministers and prime ministers in the region say they are surprised that they are required to honour the rule of law while Croatia doesn’t do that in the case of the arbitration ruling,” Cerar said, adding that Pompeo had promised to consider the matter thoroughly.

Slovenia and Croatia had presented their cases before the European Commission (EC) in May this year, and the EC decided in mid-June to remain neutral in the matter and allow the countries to resolve the issue themselves.

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