Mesic elaborated his statement to the press after a mass for soldiers killed in the Homeland War, held on the occasion of All Souls' Day.
The President said he never said that "even one culprit should be spared. All must answer. Montenegrins did take part in that (1990s) war, because they apologised for it, yet I am now being taught about patriotism".
Mesic made the statement, which elicited numerous reactions and vehement condemnation from political parties and veterans' associations, on Saturday, after meeting Montenegrin Foreign Minister Miodrag Vlahovic, while speaking of the benefits of Europe's unification.
On that occasion Mesic said that, "If after so many wars in their history the Germans and the French could open borders and cooperate, and now even lead the way in democracy and European integration, then we, who have never been at war in this region, can do it too. We were never at war with Montenegro".
He also said that Croatia had never been at war with Serbia either, "except for the last war, which was caused by (Slobodan) Milosevic".
Today Mesic reiterated that "the French and the Germans, who fought brutally over the last 130 years... leaving behind millions of victims, devastated countries and peoples, economies and infrastructure, realised that one should open borders, cooperate, and not fight to conquer territory. That was my message".
The President said he was being taken to task by war profiteers, "some new patriots, especially among some politicians". He added he had always known his place in the crucial years in Croatian history -- 1971, 1989, 1990 and 1991.
Mesic said he defended Croatia when it needed defending, that he was in Belgrade during the most difficult time when the world had to be shown that Socialist Yugoslavia had no integrating factors and that Croatia was entitled to independence.
He added he took part in the formation of the Croatian army while many who were now declaring themselves bigger patriots than himself were not.
"When we went to break the blockade of Dubrovnik it wasn't easy because they threatened to sink us. But I knew we had go to Dubrovnik, break the JNA (Yugoslav People's Army) blockade and show the world what was happening to Dubrovnik and Croatia. We broke the blockade, brought foreign reporters. They saw what the aggressor was doing, and my place was there."
"When Croatia needed defending I was in one place. Today we are positioning Croatia differently, in peacetime, by adopting European standards, and I'm in the right place again. The well-intentioned will recognise this very easily and understand a protocol obligation during which I said what was most important, that the last war was an act of aggression committed by Milosevic and his regime to create Greater Serbia."
Mesic said that at Saturday's meeting he did not go into considerations of how the war affected some Croatian islands and the Konavle region because "it's clear that the Montenegrins plundered some islands and Konavle, several times". He added Saturday was not the time to speak of what he knew about that plunder.
"I said that Milosevic started the war. Many of those who fought around Dubrovnik were Montenegrins. I didn't exclude them, I didn't say that Montenegrins didn't attack Konavle and Dubrovnik," Mesic said. He added he was being attacked by people looking for any chance to point the finger at him over his patriotism, and recalled he was imprisoned for his patriotism at Stara Gradiska.
Asked to comment on claims from the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party in connection with the upcoming presidential race that he had lost his temper way too soon, Mesic said that many would lose theirs before he lost his.