The ruling HDZ's whip Branko Bacic said on Monday it was not good to attempt to bypass the defence minister, who is responsible for his ministry's expenses, via a command by the army's chief-of-staff.

“It’s not good for Croatian soldiers, Croatian Army officers, even the Chief of the General Staff, to be mentioned in a context as it was done today in the president’s office. We must all, including the president of the republic, the Chief of the General Staff, and the minister of defence, abide by the Constitution and the Defence Act,” Bacic told the press after a meeting of the HDZ Presidency, National Council and parliamentary group.

He was commenting on claims by the head of the president’s office, Orsat Miljenic, and presidential adviser Dragan Lozancic that Defence Minister Mario Banozic’s abuse had spread to soldiers who supported the president because they had not received their per diems.

Bačić said that when it came to the Defence Ministry’s expenditures, one must abide first and foremost by the Fiscal Accountability Act, under which, he added, the minister was accountable for expenditures.

He said the attempt to bypass Banozic via a command by the army’s chief-of-staff, Admiral Robert Hranj, “causes damage first and foremost to the Chief of the General Staff.”

He voiced confidence that compensation for the unpaid per diems would be regulated.

Asked to comment on Hranj’s claim that Banozic was abusing him, Bacic said Hranj should be asked to elaborate.