Excerpts of Mesic's interview are published in Friday's issue of the daily.
Commenting on Croatia's efforts to meet the remaining condition for the opening of the entry talks with the European Union on 17 March, as scheduled, and commenting on the 23 February session of the National Security Council, Mesic said that everything was proceeding to the satisfaction of the state leadership.
"All is going on well to our satisfaction and I believe in the success of the entire operation, as it has now been done much more than in the entire previous period," Mesic said.
"It is Croatia's obligation to hand over Gotovina if he is in Croatia. In other cases it should be proved that he is not in Croatia," the president said, among other things.
Gotovina has been on the run since June 2001 when the tribunal unsealed his indictment.