Croatian President Ivo Josipovic told Voice of America on Thursday that the US had been a powerful partner to Croatia since it gained independence, and that he supported the Croatian government's policy of zero tolerance to corruption.
Responding to the reporter's question, Josipovic said Washington-Zagreb relations were "very good".
The US is a very big, serious, powerful partner to Croatia which has supported it since the struggle for independence and Croatia is grateful for that, he said.
Commenting on US-Croatian cooperation in the fight against corruption, Josipovic said "there is the know-how we didn't have and America has been intensively fighting corruption for a long time".
He said that "frequently, many European countries rightfully complain that there is a high level of corruption in Croatia. However... in several big cases our corruption is deeply linked to corruption in those countries and I expect our friendly countries, members of the European Union, to contribute to the fight against corruption, so that that side of the octopus, those arms that are not in Croatia, but elsewhere, can be investigated and the culprits punished".
Josipovic underlined that he supported the Croatian government's policy against corruption.
"The zero tolerance policy, which the prime minister (Jadranka Kosor) has proclaimed and which I have been advocating since before (being elected), is the only right way. This means that the ongoing cases must be solved and solved professionally."
Josipovic stressed this did not mean that "every case must end with a conviction," but "the case must be presented professionally from the beginning, from the police to the judiciary, and the verdict must be just and legal".
He said it was a good sign that scandals were coming to light, including those involving senior officials.
"This means there are no untouchables, that those on the highest positions must know that they will be held to account if they engage in suspicious dealings. In this context I'm seeing some attempts to obstruct justice, including via personnel changes and instructions. There are indications that some circles are thinking right now about replacing Mr (State Prosecutor Mladen) Bajic now that he and (his office) have seriously tackled some cases implicating some very highly positioned circles," Josipovic said.
