Rupel Discusses Issue of Optanti with U.S. Senator

Washington, 17 November - Slovene Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel met with New Jersey Senator Robert Toriccelli (D) in Washington on Friday local time to inform him about how Slovenia is handling the issue of compensation to Italian optanti and denationalisation. Toriccelli, who wrote to Slovene President Milan Kucan and Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek last month accusing Slovenia of discrimination as regards denationalisation and threatening that Slovenia would not get into NATO until matters are resolved, said that Slovenia is not paying compensations and returning property, to which Rupel replied that the compensations have been settled with international agreements, while the return of property falls under the denationalisation act that is being implemented.