"Croatia will not and does not want to meddle in Bosnia's internal affairs. However, we cannot but voice concern about the fact that a Bosnian Presidency member from the ranks of the Croat people has been replaced for the second time, Covic after Ante Jelavic," Sanader told a government session.
Sanader did not want to enter into why the international community's High Representative to Bosnia, Paddy Ashdown, had fired Covic, but said the decision to replace him had been politically motivated and could have negative political connotations.
Sanader said Covic was still presumed innocent and that it would not be good if politics were to enter the upcoming trial, when Covic will face corruption charges.
The Croatian PM said it was good that Covic had not been barred from political activity, which had been the norm in similar cases in the past.
Sanader voiced concern about the fact that the equality of the Bosnian Croat people might be endangered.
He said that in line with its good neighbourly relations policy and as a signatory to the Dayton peace agreement, which ended the war in Bosnia in 1995, the Croatian government would pay attention to how the equality of Bosnia's Croats would be preserved.
Sanader underlined that Croats were equal to Serbs and Muslims in Bosnia.
He said that preserving this equality was one of the conditions for developing neighbourly relations with Bosnia and having a common future in Europe.
Sanader said he was interested in seeing Bosnia as an independent, integral and self-sustainable state.
Recalling that this year saw the tenth anniversary of the Dayton peace agreement, Sanader said, "There has been a lot of criticism of the agreement. It wasn't ideal but at the time it was an excellent mechanism to stop the war". He added it was up to Bosnia's peoples to regulate their future.
"We would like Bosnia-Herzegovina to become emancipated, to join the EU and NATO," Sanader said, adding Croatia would help Bosnia in those efforts.