(ANSA) - ZAGREB - In an interview released to local media this morning, Croatia's Foreign Minister Marija Pejcinovic Buric harshly criticised her Slovenian counterpart Karl Erjavec, saying that his behavior in relation to the dispute over the maritime border in northern Adriatic Sea, was ''aggressive and naughty''. ''I think it's time to say openly that Erjavec is not in favour of dialogue'', Buric added, explaining that the accusations against Croatia expressed by Slovenian Foreign Minister in the past weeks ''have gone too far''. Erjavec has said repeatedly that Zagreb, by refusing to accept the arbitration judgement on the border in the Piran Bay, Gulf of Trieste, issued last June, does not respect international law. Therefore, he announced that Slovenia could appeal to international tribunals and insinuated that his country could in the future put a veto on Croatia's accession to the Schengen area. According to Zagreb, the whole arbitration process was irremediably compromised by Ljubljana's illegitimate pressures on the judges and therefore considers it to be non-binding.

''Despite all the problems that remani to be solved, Zagreb is open to discussions on all issues'', Buric said. ''Anyway, even Slovenia should be interested in Croatia's accession to Schengen - he added - and this is the issue of EU external borders, and not the internal ones between individual member states.