Regarding his recent statement that Croatia and Montenegro had never been at war, and the responses it had provoked, Mesic said he was beginning to be "amused by the fact that those who did not know what was going on in Croatia in 1971 and those who did not dare board the Slavija with me and break the naval blockade of Dubrovnik are now teaching me patriotism".
"Do you think it was easy to travel to Belgrade in 1990 when the world was still inclined to Yugoslavia?! And all that is now being forgotten and the question is being raised whether I am patriotic or not," Mesic said.
The President reiterated that his statement was a little awkward "but only if taken out of context". He stressed that he had been speaking about a part of history before the 1991-1995 war in Croatia.
"I said that Croats and Montenegrins had been in different armies fighting for different interests, but that as nations Croatia and Montenegro had never been at war in their history. It is, of course, well known on whose side the Montenegrins fought during the aggression against Croatia. I would have to be out of my mind not to know this. It was mainly Montenegrins who were involved in the siege of Dubrovnik," Mesic said.
Asked to comment on a news report that the Counter-Intelligence Agency (POA) had questioned journalist Helena Puljiz in connection with the work of his office, Mesic said he knew nothing about it other than what he had read in newspapers. "The POA has the right to gather information, but it should do it in a legal way. If any irregularities have been committed in the process, someone will have to answer for it," he added.