"I think the time has come to put the problem of the port of Ploce in a realistic context in which it should be, and that is the economic context," Zuzul told reporters in New York where he had attended the Republican Party convention, which ended on Thursday.
Zuzul said that Bosnia-Herzegovina had a clear economic interest in using the port, while Croatia was interested in its southern port becoming an entry port for Bosnia-Herzegovina.
"When we look at these two interests in this way, and that is the only way they should be looked at, then I think all solutions will be to our mutual satisfaction," the minister said.
Zuzul said that the problem had arisen from the fact that the talks on the port of Ploce had been conducted within the framework of international political negotiations and an agreement on special relations between Croatian and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which he said "belonged to another time".
"Croatia is quite certainly in a completely different phase where it wants to build its relations with its neighbours in their mutual interest, and I am firmly confident that Bosnia-Herzegovina is also entering this phase," Zuzul said.
Asked whether Croatia would financially support Bosnian Croats at municipal elections this autumn, Zuzul said that the Croatian government was helping the Bosnian Croats because it was its constitutional obligation. He added that this aid was transparent and with the knowledge of the Bosnian government and the international community.
"We will continue providing assistance in that way, but we as the government will do nothing to become involved in political issues in Bosnia-Herzegovina," Zuzul said.
"We have the obligation and responsibility to care for the future of the Croatian people in Bosnia-Herzegovina. We will continue doing so in a way that is acceptable in relations between sovereign states," he added.