Hartley was asked if he agreed with the view of Slovenian right-wing parties that bilateral issues between Slovenia and the US had been neglected in recent years given that there had been no bilateral visits at the highest political level.
He said he had heard the entire political spectrum, not only the opposition, expressing concern about the state of relations. He added that while facts could not be denied, he would not want to ignore the strength of the relations, which had been confirmed by several bilateral visits.
Hartley does not see Slovenia as a pro-Russian country. He described it as a very clearly West-oriented country, a member of the EU and NATO, a democratic country with a high level of human rights protection.
As he sees it, Slovenia has an entirely appropriate relationship with Russia. It is trying to balance its economic, political and security interests, he noted.
Commenting on Croatia's refusal to implement the results of the international arbitration on the Slovenian-Croatian border, he repeated the US did not wish to take sides.
This is the US's general position when it comes to bilateral border issues, he said, adding the issue could be solved fairly easily and that the US was actively encouraging both governments to find a joint solution.
Meanwhile, Hartley was happy to say that US companies are the second biggest investor in Slovenia and he added that interest to continue investing definitely exists.
He however feels Slovenia could do much more to improve its business environment and capitalise on its favourable location, good infrastructure, educated workforce and good work ethics.
The ambassador, who bids farewell to Ljubljana on Monday, does not believe US-Slovenian relations have benefited as a result of Slovenia having the first lady in the White House, although at least many Americans know now where Slovenia is located, he said
