Bosnia: Croatian Transport Minister on Construction of Pelješac Bridge

Croatian Minister of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development Božidar Kalmeta said in Sarajevo on Tuesday Croatia would continue with preparations for the construction of the Pelješac bridge and dismissed the possibility that the implementation of the project could be connected with the ratification of a border agreement with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Kalmeta, who is on an official visit to Bosnia, met Bosnian Transport and Communications Minister Branko Dokić. After the talks, Kalmeta said they agreed Zagreb would forward to Sarajevo all documentation about the planned construction of the Pelješac Bridge.

'We will look for a solution based on the fact that Croatia needs this bridge, but we will also respect the fact that Croatia is obliged to secure Bosnia unimpeded access to open seas,' Kalmeta said.

He said that all requested documentation would be forwarded to the Bosnian Council of Ministers by the end of the year at the latest, adding that Croatia was ready to try to find a solution that would satisfy both sides.

Bosnian Minister Dokić said the Bosnian Council of Ministers would request that all positive experiences be included in the project on the construction of the Pelješac Bridge, including those of other countries. He said that in some 30 days, after Zagreb sent all necessary documentation, the Council of Ministers would give its final opinion about the project.

Croatian Minister Kalmeta told reporters one should not link the Pelješac Bridge with the Croatian Government's decision of Monday to temporarily postpone the ratification of a border agreement with Bosnia. He said some legal issues concerning the islets of Veliki Školj and Mali Školj still needed to be clarified and added that an inter-governmental border commission would be set up to deal with the issue.

Dokić said the Bosnian Council of Ministers had not yet had a chance to discuss the Croatian government's latest decision and declined to comment on the temporary postponement of the ratification of the border agreement with Croatia.

The head of the Bosnian State Commission for Borders, Mugdim Čukle, told Sarajevo-based Oslobođenje daily on Tuesday there was no doubt that the Klek peninsula and Veliki Školj and Mali Školj islets belonged to Bosnia. He said attempts were being made once again to politicize things that had already been agreed. Čukle stressed that experts in Bosnia and Croatia had no doubts about the border near Neum.

Bosnian Minister for Civil Affairs Safet Halilović told Mostar-based Dnevni List daily on Tuesday that Veliki Školj and Mali Školj and the Klek peninsula had always been a part of the Bosnian territory. (Hina)

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