Referring to the Constitution and the division of authority, Mesic said in the letter that he publicly voiced suspicion about the purchase after obtaining "certain information about the purchase of expensive military equipment in a direct deal at the very end of the year".
Mesic wrote that his query about the spending of taxpayers' money was "founded and justified" and that Roncevic's claim that the query was "tragicomic" was "inappropriate and irresponsible" for a minister. He urged Roncevic to provide arguments that the Public Procurement Act was respected in the purchase and reminded him that he was still the head of state.
As part of his election campaign trail, Mesic visited Zapresic near Zagreb on Saturday where he announced that he would initiate an investigation into the circumstances under which the Defence Ministry had purchased trucks worth five million euros.
Roncevic reacted the same day, telling Hina Mesic's allegations were "tragicomic" and that "there is no room for doubting the legality of the direct deal in the purchase of 35 million kuna worth trucks for the Croatian Army."
Speaking to the press today, Roncevic said the purchase of 39 trucks was carried out in the law and transparently, and announced he would request that military chief of staff General Josip Lucic be held accountable for incorrectly informing Mesic about the purchase.
He said he would request talks with Mesic, the Armed Forces Supreme Commander, to put an "end to the bad communication".
Roncevic said Lucic had been suggesting another bidder who was 30 percent more expensive and that last week, although this was not within his authority, Lucic poured over the contract on the purchase of the Iveco trucks.