June 15 (SeeNews) - Croatia's conservative HDZ party leader Tomislav Karamarko resigned as first deputy prime minister on Wednesday and called on Bozo Petrov, the leader of the minor coalition partner Most and and deputy prime minister, and on prime minister Tihomir Oreskovic to follow suit.
Karamarko told a press conference he is resigning to help Croatia overcome the current political crisis.
He added that his decision to resign had nothing to do with the findings of a parliamentary committee which announced earlier in the day that he was in conflict of interest in relation to his wife's business ties with a consultant working for Hungarian energy group MOL.
Speaking at a separate news conference after Karamarko, Petrov said he is ready to step down if HDZ agrees to maintain the current cabinet headed by prime minister Oreskovic.
He noted that the committee's findings make it clear that he bears no guilt for the current political situation and that responsibility rests with one person only, Karamarko.
"If HDZ asks me to step down in return for letting Oreskovic remain PM, I will do so," Petrov added.
For his part, Oreskovic welcomed Karamarko's decision. In a short address to the media he said he is prepared to face a no-confidence vote scheduled to take place in parliament on Thursday.