Today in New York, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, attended the opening of the General Debate of the 62nd Session of the UN General Assembly, which began with a morning reception for heads of delegations hosted by the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon. Against the backdrop of the session, the Slovenian PM met the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, and the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
(Photo: Tina Kosec/Bobo)
PM Janez Janša and Mr Moussa focused mainly on the current situation in the Middle East, and exchanged views on the potential success of an international conference organised in November in Washington on the initiative of the USA. They agreed that the success of the conference is vital to the strengthening of moderate forces among the Palestinians. They also discussed the Western Balkans, particularly Kosovo, with PM Janez Janša presenting Slovenia's view of the influence of the Kosovo issue on the situation in the region.
PM Janez Janša met the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa (Photo: Tina Kosec/Bobo)
The meeting between the Slovenian and Turkish PMs focused mainly on bilateral collaboration and EU-related issues. PM Janez Janša congratulated his Turkish counterpart on the July election results. Both PMs agreed that bilateral relations were good, particularly with regard to economic cooperation, which is expected to strengthen with the planned official visit of the Slovenian PM and a strong business delegation to Turkey in late November. PM Janez Janša said that there was great interest in the visit on the part of Slovenia's business sector.
Prime Minister Janez Janša and his Turkish colleague Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Photo: Tina Kosec/Bobo)
The Slovenian PM and his counterpart also discussed Slovenia's preparations for the EU Presidency, agreeing that collaboration between the two countries would be particularly strong during that period. Slovenia expects that after the internal political situation in the country is stabilised, Turkey will shift its focus back to joining European organisations. According to PM Janez Janša, the Cyprus issue will be vital in that respect. PM Erdogan thanked the Slovenian PM for Slovenia's consistent support for EU enlargement. PM Janez Janša said that public support for Turkish EU accession in Slovenia is the highest among all member states, adding that especially after the success of the June European Council and a re-launch of a discussion on a new constitutional treaty, the atmosphere in Europe regarding enlargement is again more optimistic. The PMs also exchanged views on the stabilisation process in the Western Balkans, particularly with regard to the countries of the region approaching Euro-Atlantic organisations.
At a press conference, the Slovenian PM commented on several current international issues. With respect to the decision of the UN Security Council to deploy peacekeeping troops to Chad and the Central African Republic to prevent the spread of the crisis from Darfur, Mr Janša said that Slovenia had expressed readiness in principle to partake in peace missions in Africa months before; however, it has been facing limited capacities. "We currently top the list of countries with regard to the number of peacekeeping troops per capita. Slovenia cannot participate in Africa with a larger number of troops, since it is very likely that in the following months more troops will be required in Kosovo. This, however, is not to say that we will not be present," said the PM. With regard to Iran, Mr Janša stressed that Slovenia advocates a peaceful solution, but added that situation regarding the Iranian nuclear programme is not likely to be resolved soon.
(Photo: Tina Kosec/Bobo)
In the afternoon, the Slovenian PM attended the traditional reception for heads of delegations hosted by the President of the USA, George W. Bush, and the First Lady, and later a working dinner hosted by the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.
On Wednesday, PM Janez Janez Janša will hold separate talks with the President of the Republic of Serbia, Boris Tadić, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Montenegro, Željko Šturanović. One of the central topics of the discussions will be the contents of a letter that the Slovenian PM recently sent to heads of state or government of EU member states and the European Commission. "The letter warns that problems in the Western Balkans should be solved in a logical order and thus prevent the issue of the future status of Kosovo from being used as a vehicle for other outstanding issues that could be resolved sooner," said PM Janez Janša ahead of tomorrow's meeting, adding that it was not only important how the EU acts, but also when it acts. He said the issue of the Western Balkans is one of the tougher issues Slovenia will have to negotiate during its EU Presidency, as it is not very likely that from the time the report on Kosovo is published until the end of the year, all related outstanding issues could be solved. "Slovenia is preparing intensively so as to be able to resolve these issues alone in the first six months of 2008."
