JERUSALEM, March 16 (Hina) - Cooperation between the Croatian Foreign Ministry and the Office of the President is fair and nobody in Croatia's diplomatic services has been given the instruction not to send some message to President
Stjepan Mesic, Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul said in Jerusalem on Tuesday commenting on some reports in the Croatian press.
JERUSALEM, March 16 (Hina) - Cooperation between the Croatian Foreign
Ministry and the Office of the President is fair and nobody in
Croatia's diplomatic services has been given the instruction not to
send some message to President Stjepan Mesic, Foreign Minister Miomir
Zuzul said in Jerusalem on Tuesday commenting on some reports in the
Croatian press.#L#
"My impression is that the cooperation between the Croatian Foreign
Ministry and the Office of the President is fair," Zuzul said, adding
that under the Croatian Constitution, the foreign ministry is
"primarily answerable to the government, i.e. the Prime Minister, and
the President is the co-creator of the foreign policy".
The foreign minister said he cooperated very well with President
Mesic, whom he frequently met and consulted.
"Nobody in the Croatian diplomatic network has been given any
instruction on not sending something to the head of state. Quite the
contrary, all visits which the President pays abroad are organised by
the diplomatic services and at all his meetings either I or the
(Foreign Ministry) State Secretary Hido Biscevic have so far been
present," Zuzul said, adding that he wondered who was fuelling
nonexistent conflicts and why they were doing so.
The Croatian press has lately reported that some ambassadors have not
been sending reports on their activities to President Mesic and that
he is, in a way, denied information.
Asked to comment on some negative reactions in Croatia to a statement
on Israeli-Palestinian relations he gave on Monday after meeting
Israeli Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom, Minister Zuzul said he had
relayed the clear position of his country on the issue.
"We relayed the clear position of Croatia which is identical to the
European Union's position. We support the implementation of guidelines
for peace and continuation of negotiations. The fact, however, is that
at the moment the negotiations are at a standstill," Zuzul said.
"We believe that it is the duty of the Israeli government, as of any
other government in the world, to ensure the safety and security of
its citizens, and I did not go further than that in my assessments and
statements," Zuzul said, adding that it was another matter how
somebody interpreted his words.
After his talks with Shalom, Zuzul extended condolences on the death
of the latest victims of Sunday's terrorist attack in the Israeli city
of Ashdod, and said that it was Croatia's view that the priority of
the international community must be the fight against terrorism.
"Croatia fully supports Israel's willingness to continue implementing
peace guidelines, but also understands the Israeli government's
obligation to protect its citizens and stop further terrorist
attacks," Zuzul said on Monday and added that he hoped the
Palestinians would succeed in finding a leadership that was capable of
negotiating and achieving peace.
(Hina) ms sb