ZAGREB, July 15, 2018 – Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović met with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sunday before the football World Cup final between Croatia and France.
Grabar-Kitarović congratulated Putin on the very successful organisation of the World Cup and thanked the Russian people for their hospitality towards Croatian fans in all the cities where Croatia played.
“This reinforces strong historical ties between the two nations, which should be particularly emphasised in a year when a series of important cultural events are being held to mark the 50th anniversary of friendship between Zagreb and Saint Petersburg,” the Croatian President’s Office said in a statement.
The two leaders agreed that considerable progress had made in many areas in relations between the two countries since their meeting in Sochi in October 2017 during the Croatian president’s official visit.
Grabar-Kitarović in particular mentioned efforts to resolve the problem of air quality in the eastern Croatian town of Slavonski Brod by modernising a Russian-owned oil refinery at Bosanski Brod in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, and possibilities to boost economic cooperation that were brought about by a successful business forum in Moscow last October.
The Croatian president also spoke of the role of Russian banks in reaching a settlement for the indebted Croatian food and retail conglomerate Agrokor and their plans for its further development.
The two presidents agreed that a reciprocal visit by the Russian president would give additional impetus to the dialogue between the two countries.
