Kolinda Grabar Kitarović met with Putin and invited him for a return visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović at the state residence in Sochi, a Russian resort on the Black Sea, where they will discuss the improvement of neglected bilateral relations, Croatian media report, as stated by the Patria agency.

- I am very pleased to meet with you in Russia, I am pleased for the opportunity to talk about bilateral relations, but also about regional issues. Welcome - Putin told the Croatian president at the beginning of the meeting at the Bocharov Ruchey residence.

- I look forward to our talks today and I believe that we will open a new phase in our relations, discussing bilateral relations, primarily the expansion of economic cooperation, cultural and all other cooperation, but also security issues in the European continent, especially in our neighborhood in Southeast Europe, and global security issues in which Russia plays an important role - said the Croatian President.

She also said that there are several open issues between the two countries at the moment and expressed her belief that they can be discussed within the framework of an "open dialogue of mutual respect".

- First of all, I believe that we can set positive preconditions for further expansion of cooperation between Croatia and Russia - emphasized the Croatian President and took the opportunity to invite Putin for an official visit to Croatia.

Putin recalled that this year marks the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Croatia and expressed his satisfaction with the significant growth in trade exchange between the two countries.

This is the first official visit of a Croatian president to the Russian Federation since 2009, and the key goal of the visit is a "new momentum in relations that have been neglected for years".

Putin announced the Croatian president's visit to Russia about two weeks ago while receiving the new ambassador Tonči Stanišić. Previously, Croatia had been without an ambassador in Moscow for two years.

After the talks in Sochi are completed, Grabar Kitarović and her delegation will go to Moscow. The day after, a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is scheduled. She will be awarded an honorary doctorate at Plekhanov University.

On the second day, there will be a Russian-Croatian economic forum. 150 representatives from about a hundred companies will come from Croatia, while the participation of 245 companies has been confirmed from the Russian side.

In the evening, Grabar Kitarović will attend a performance at the Bolshoi Theatre. The day after, she will go to St. Petersburg.