Sanader was responding to the question if he had attended a dinner in late June when it was agreed to sell Pliva to Barr and if the state would sell its 18 per cent to the U.S. company.
Sanader said the whole sale would be monitored by the Croatian Financial Services Supervision Agency (HANFA) and that the most important thing was for the sale of the state's 18 per cent interest in Pliva to be transparent and that the shares be sold to the best bidder.
"Given that HANFA is monitoring the entire process, no dinners or meetings with Pliva's representatives have anything to do with (the process) nor can they affect it," he said.
The U.S. Embassy in Zagreb on Monday issued a press release in response to a September 3 article by the Index.hr portal about possible plans for the acquisition of the Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva by the U.S. firm Barr Pharmaceuticals.
Regarding that article, "the Embassy has always urged that the process be open and transparent."
"We expect any American company to operate fully under both U.S. and Croatian law, and Barr has assured us they are doing so," reads the press release.
As regards his interview with the Globus weekly on July 21 this year, "Ambassador Bradtke said 'If Barr successfuly buys Pliva, that will have a very positive effect on other American companies that wish to expand to the Croatian market'", the Embassy said.
The index.hr portal claimed that the U.S. Ambassador to Croatia Robert A. Bradtke had said its was time Barr bought Pliva.
"Embassy believes that purchases of companies should be based on economic criteria," the press release reads, adding that "whatever Pliva shareholders finally decide regarding the future of their company, relations between the United States and Croatia will continue to be strong."
The portal also claimed that a former Croatian foreign minister and former ambassador to Washington, Miomir Zuzul, has lobbied for Barr Pharmaceuticals during the ongoing negotiations for the acquisition of Pliva. The other interested party is the Icelandic company Actavis. According to the portal's article, in late June, Zuzul, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and Pliva CEO Zeljko Covic met in the Italian city of Verona where Zuzul succeeded in persuading the premier that Barr would be the best option for the new owner of the leading Croatian pharmaceutical company.