Croatian president invites Putin to Zagreb
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović told Russian news outlet Kommersant in an interview that she has invited her Russian colleague Vladimir Putin to come to Zagreb on a state visit.
“I invited him to come when I was in Sochi last year (on an official visit in October 2017), and repeated the invitation in Moscow. This would be the first state visit of a Russian president to Zagreb, and I think that now is the time for it. We are looking forward to receiving Vladimir Putin,” the Croatian leader said.
When asked about a possible date for Putin’s visit to the Croatian capital, she said that it depends on both presidents’ schedules. “But, as I told President Putin – as soon as it suits him,” she clarified.
The Russian president met with his Croatian counterpart on October 18, 2017 in Sochi, in the 25th year of diplomatic relations between the two countries. At that time, Grabar-Kitarović invited Putin to come to Croatia on an official visit, noting that no Russian president had yet visited the republic officially. Putin had, however, attended an energy forum in Croatia in 2007. On July 15 this year, Putin met with Grabar-Kitarović in the Kremlin, while the latter was in Russia to watch the FIFA World Cup. The Russian president congratulated her on her team’s victory against Russia in the quarter-finals.