"Why is this happening? Because the SDP and its partners want to do what they were doing from 2000 to 2003 and to restore the system to that level," Jandrokovic said at a news conference in Zagreb.

He would not speculate if the names were leaked by the Office of President Josipovic who earlier requested Jandrokovic's resignation citing as the reason disregard for procedure and media attacks.

"I don't want to speculate on who divulged the names, but it definitely was not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration," the minister said, adding that he was willing to meet Josipovic as soon as possible to analyse "name by name" the nominations for new ambassadors and consuls.

Jandrokovic would not speak about 15 candidates he had nominated for new ambassadors, but noted that 14 of them had held or still held senior positions at the ministry and that most of them were permanently employed career diplomats.

President Josipovic last week called Jandrokovic's list of nominees "a quasi-proposal" which he did not want to discuss and requested that the government, not Jandrokovic, submit a new list of candidates as stipulated by laws and the constitution.

Asked if by doing so Josipovic was delaying the appointments, Jandrokovic would not give a direct answer, recalling a letter Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor sent Josipovic, suggesting that they meet and discuss the names on the list.

"PM Kosor invited (Josipovic) to talks. We are ready for a fair discussion during which we will make appropriate decisions," Jandrokovic said, adding that he wanted this to happen as soon as possible because delays only harmed Croatia's international reputation and interests.

Claiming that by attacking his ministry, the SDP was "trying to restore the system to the level as existed between 2000 and 2003," Jandrokovic said that at the time, the ruling Social Democrats appointed 21 new ambassadors, including 13 in the second half of 2003, and that a significant portion were people who joined the diplomatic service for the first time as party officials.

He went on to say that from 2000 to 2001, "an army of SDP staff" was employed at the foreign ministry, including some who he said called themselves independent analysts and attacked his ministry. In that context, he mentioned the former Ambassador to the United States Ivan Grdesic, the former Ambassador to Sweden Branko Caratan, and Damir Grubisa.

Jandrokovic said that since his appointment in January 2008, he had invested too much work in developing the diplomatic service to allow its disintegration, dismissing claims that he was leading the ministry in line with instructions from his party, the ruling HDZ.

Dismissing such claims, he said that the number of employees had been reduced from 1,527 to 1,253, that the ministry budget had been cut from HRK 686 million in 2007 to HRK 558 million in 2010, that the ministry was meeting its obligations regularly, that applications were invited internally for leading posts abroad, and that as minister he had always given priority to young and educated people.