The president said that the statement del Ponte gave to reporters after submitting a report to the Council of the European Union "comes as not special surprise and insisting on general Gotovina's appearance in The Hague is a constant in the standpoints of the ICTY Prosecutor's Office.
Mesic said in the statement that the Prosecutor's Office had said on several occasions it was unacceptable that Croatia's further progress on the path to the EU depended on one man.
Del Ponte told reporters in Luxembourg on Monday she was confident the Croatian authorities would locate Gotovina by the end of November. She, however, expressed disappointment with the fact that the fugitive general was not arrested.before the summer.
Asked whether she would be disappointed if the European Council set a date in December for the start of negotiations with Croatia despite the fact that Gotovina was not yet arrested, del Ponte said she did not want to be involved in political issues.
Del Ponte will submit a report on Croatia to the UN Security Council on November 23. The prosecutor declined to comment on the content of her report.
I am closely watching what the Crotian government is doing to locate the fugitive general and I will be able to report whether what Croatia has done is good or bad, she said.
Croatian Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul will comment on del Ponte's statement on Tuesday in Brussels where he will hold talks with the European Commissioner for External Affairs Chris Patten.