"This is nonsense. I did not attend such a meeting, and I was not at all in Zadar at the time when that alleged meeting was held," Prtenjaca told reporters in the Sabor.
Prtenjaca branded those speculations as the politically-motivated imputations ahead of local elections, scheduled for 15 May.
Some media said that Prtenjaca was a witness to that meeting after Banic claimed that a high-ranking HDZ official from Zadar could testify about his talks with Kalmeta.
Banic told HTV last Saturday that while Kalmeta was Zadar mayor he had asked him that 'Tankerska plovidba' company should pay 25,000 dollars per month into a bank account of the law firm of Luka Misetic, one of the attorneys representing Gotovina, who is wanted by the Hague war crimes tribunal. The funds were to be used to cover the costs of the defence team and the needs of the Gotovina family, Banic said, adding that he had refused to do so.
Minister Kalmeta dismissed allegations adding that this was "a premeditated and carefully planned move made ahead of local elections aimed at discrediting me as the top candidate of the (HDZ) slate for the city of Zadar in the eyes of the international community."
Kalmeta added that this was not the first time that allegations of this type were being made ahead of important events and dates for Croatia. The minister was referring to the first session of the European Union task force in charge of assessing Croatia's cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal, scheduled for Tuesday (26 April).