Radmanovic and Presidency members Bakir Izetbegovic and Zeljko Komsic arrived in Zagreb on Monday for a two-day official visit.

Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting with Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, Radmanovic said that "for several years now the Croat people as a whole have not been fully equal with the two other peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

Radmanovic, who represents the Serbs, would not elaborate on his position, saying only that the Croats' inequality could be seen in their being outvoted in state institutions, in the use of the Croatian language and in "some other matters".

"Within Bosnia and Herzegovina we must and will find the strength to ensure the equality of all," Radmanovic said.

Josipovic said that the formation of a government after the October 3 parliamentary elections was Bosnia and Herzegovina's internal affair, adding that the HDZ BiH and the HDZ 1990 were Bosnian Croat and not Croatian parties. He stressed that Croatia supported the principle of equality for all the peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

When asked to comment on the statement on Bosnia and Herzegovina which he had jointly issued with Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, Josipovic said that it was well meant because its starting point was the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and did not represent interference in its internal affairs.

"That statement is absolutely fair and any well-meaning person will see it as such," Josipovic said.

Radmanovic said that the Josipovic-Kosor statement was not regarded as interference in Bosnia and Herzegovina's internal affairs, so it was not discussed today.

"However, within Bosnia and Herzegovina we should always talk about the equality of all the peoples, and sometimes we need help from our friends abroad," Radmanovic said.

Radmanovic and Josipovic confirmed that they had also discussed the case of Croatian war veteran Tihomir Purda, who was arrested in Bosnia and Herzegovina early in January on a warrant issued by Serbia, and the problem of air pollution caused by the oil refinery in the northern Bosnian town of Bosanski Brod.

The case of Tihomir Purda, who is in custody in Zenica prison awaiting a court ruling on his extradition to Belgrade to face war crimes charges, was generally discussed as part of justice-related issues, Josipovic said.

Josipovic said he was confident that the ruling by the Bosnian State Court would be "fair and in line with Bosnian and international law."

Speaking of the Bosanski Brod refinery, Radmanovic said that there were certain shortcomings relating to protection mechanisms which needed to be addressed this year in accordance with relevant laws and the promises made by the refinery's Russian owners.

Radmanovic said that the issue of the air pollution needed to be resolved because it was harmful both to residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to residents of Croatia. He announced that relevant ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its Serb entity would visit the refinery on Tuesday.