Appeals proceedings are to follow now, considering that the trial chamber established that the Croatian state leadership had participated in a joint criminal enterprise in contravention of international law and UN conventions, said Kosor.

"This is unacceptable for the government," the PM said, adding that her government would use, as it had been doing so far, all legal steps to contest the argument of a joint criminal enterprise in the appeals proceedings.

She recalled, among other things, that the government had commissioned a study from the Croatian Academy of Legal Sciences on the allegation of a joint criminal enterprise and that the Academy sent the study to the president of the Hague tribunal in February, with a wish that legal experts state, exclusively on the basis of law, what such an enterprise implied.

In the life of an individual and a nation there are moments which are difficult to accept, and such moments are particularly difficult when we feel deeply that they are contrary to our wishes and expectations, said Kosor.

Our position on the nature of Operation Storm is very clear, she said, adding that it was a legitimate military and police operation, the aim of which was to liberate occupied Croatian areas.

We are not afraid of the truth, we are proud of our victories and all those who made it possible for Croatia to be a free, independent and democratic country today, Kosor said. She added that Croatia was also a law-based country in which all laws, judicial institutions and their decisions were respected.

Kosor thanked Croatian citizens for "behaving in a dignified and responsible manner" in the current situation.

She also thanked Croatian veterans, saying that she was confident that in the current situation, too, they would show "unity and confidence in Croatia's future".