Sanader told the press afterwards the meeting had been arranged a month ago, well ahead of last weekend's parliamentary elections in Bosnia, so as to avert any speculation that the meeting was related to the election results. Sanader said, however, that Puljic and he neither wanted to nor should have avoided discussing the results.
Sanader said the talks focused on future Croatian-Bosnian cooperation, the projects Croatia was assisting and would continue to assist and expand in Bosnia, as well as on how to preserve the equality and sovereignty of the Croat people in Bosnia.
The election results have shown disunity among political parties, Sanader said, adding that he had said on the Croatian government's behalf on a number of occasions that Bosnian Croat parties should be united on their own interests, agree about the interests of the Bosnian Croat people and design their election platforms in line with that.
Sanader said that would help them preserve the interests of the Bosnian Croat people as well as its equality and sovereignty.
Puljic and Sanader also talked about the future of universities, cultural and other institutions which define the Croat national identity.
Sanader said that as prime minister he wanted to continue nurturing good and friendly relations with Bosnia, and advocate Bosnia's sovereignty and integrity in the process of integration with Euro-Atlantic structures.
Sanader recalled that Croatia, as one of the signatories to the Dayton peace accords, must care for Croats in Bosnia, and expressed regret that Bosnian Croat parties and their leaders had not risen to the occasion at the elections. He added that it was not too late to agree about a joint stance in the institutions to which they had been elected.
Speaking of the recent elections, Cardinal Puljic expressed regret that the Dayton accords and Bosnia's legislation had made possible another injustice to the Bosnian Croat people.
Puljic said he was satisfied with the Croatian government's stance towards Bosnia and Bosnian Croats, thanking it for assisting with refugee returns and for announcing that the assistance would continue.
Croats wish to stay in Bosnia and have equal status and the Catholic Church in Bosnia wishes the same, he said, voicing confidence that the international community would understand this and invest more effort so that the Croat people could achieve equality.
Asked if he considered Zeljko Komsic the representative of the Bosnian Croat people, the cardinal said Komsic had not been elected by the people but by one party and that it remained to be seen how he would do. Puljic added that Komsic had been lawfully elected but in accordance with a law that was unfair to the Bosnian Croat people.
Commenting on the Komsic case, Sanader said Zagreb would not interfere with Bosnia's elections because this was not in accordance with European democratic standards.