"Sanader promised firmly that he... would make maximum efforts to put an end to the political trials of Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina and prevent the replacement of the second legitimately elected Croat member of the Presidency," Covic said in his first interview after he was indicted for abuse of office and corruption.
Covic did not give a clear answer as to whether he would yield to pressure by the international community and resign, stating only that he would make a final decision on the matter after today's session of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) presidency in Mostar.
Commenting on the indictment against him, the Lijanovic brothers, Constitutional Court president Mate Tadic and professor Zdravko Lucic, Covic said that it was entirely based on lies.
He said that the attempt to remove him and Tadic from the political scene was linked to plans by the international community and the upcoming constitutional changes which he said could end up being to the detriment of the Croat community in Bosnia-Herzegovina.