STANICIC RECALLED AS PART OF REGULAR PROCEDURE

ZAGREB, Sept 17 (Hina) - President Stjepan Mesic has recalled the Croatian ambassador to Bulgaria, Tonci Stanicic, as part of regular procedure for the recall or appointment of ambassadors, the president's office said on Wednesday. #L# The procedure was initiated in July, and the decision was made at the beginning of this month with a prior countersignature from Prime Minister Ivica Racan, Mesic's spokeswoman Danijela Barisic said. The decision was published in the Official Gazette and will take effect on December 31 this year, she added. This was also confirmed by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Natalija Bukovec, who said that Stanicic's four-year term of office had expired. Bukovec said his recall had "absolutely nothing to do" with media reports, which attributed Stanicic's replacement to several diplomatic gaffes he had made. The Nacional weekly and the Jutarnji List daily have reported that after several serious diplomatic omissions Stanisic overstepped the mark in an interview with the Bulgarian Edno monthly in May. According to Jutarnji List, in the interview Stanicic criticised the Croatian Foreign Ministry, saying that Foreign Minister Tonino Picula did not want to be minister any more, that Croatian diplomats showed poor interest in the ambassadorial post in Bulgaria, and presented controversial theories about Croats. In addition to the decision on the recall of Stanicic, Official Gazette no. 142 also contains a decision on the recall of the ambassador to China, Zeljko Kirincic, and a decision on the appointment of Marjan Kombol as ambassador to Iran and Pakistan. (hina) vm