"I was a professional commander who did not allow the perpetration of war crimes. No crime was committed by our side. This has been proven by investigations conducted by Hague tribunal investigators who worked on the Vukovar case for five years and found no crime perpetrated by our side," Dedakovic said in the interview.
Dedakovic said the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) had never suspected Croatian troops of war crimes in Vukovar and therefore it was more shocking that Croatian veteran Tihomir Purda was now arrested over alleged war crimes.
Purda was apprehended in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 5 January on an international warrant issued by Serbia where he is wanted for alleged war crimes in Vukovar. He is being kept in prison in Zenica pending a decision of the Bosnian authorities on whether he will be handed over to Serbia or not.
"He (Purda) simply defended his home and his family. He did not leave his position let alone committed war crimes," Dedakovic said. Serbia accuses him of war crimes against soldiers and the infirm.
Asked whether Croatia should drop a genocide lawsuit against Serbia, Dedakovic answered in the negative, calling for full investigations into war events as a prerequisite for building good-neighbourly relations and peace,