If Putin arrives for the summit, he will hold talks with Croatia's president and prime minister, the Russian official told reporters at the end of his two-day visit, during which he met President Stjepan Mesic, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, Economy Minister Branko Vukelic, Deputy PM Damir Polancec, and Foreign Affairs and European Integration Minister Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic.
Describing the visit and meetings as very successful, Poltavchenko said they focused on the promotion of economic cooperation between Croatia and the Central Federal District which has been developing actively over the last five years.
Poltavchenko said that Russian business people were planning to build tourist facilities along the Croatian Adriatic coast and also mentioned problems they had with obtaining construction permits.
As for the privatisation of the Croatian oil company INA, the Russian official said that he and his hosts discussed the possibility of the Russian companies Lukoil and Gazpromneft participating in INA's privatisation as well as the scope of their involvement.
Speaking of the future status of Kosovo, Poltavchenko reiterated Russia's position that negotiation possibilities have not been exhausted entirely and that Serbia and Kosovo Albanians should arrive at a solution through direct negotiations within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
We believe that unilateral decisions must not be made, Poltavchenko said, adding that they might start a chain reaction as there were around 200 spots around the world where similar conflicts could break out.
The Russian official said that differences between Russia's and Croatia's positions on Kosovo's future status were visible, but that their respective positions were not diametrically opposed. He added that it was understandable that because of its geographical position Croatia was fearing possible complications the issue of Kosovo could cause.
Speaking of the DruzbaAdria oil pipeline project, Poltavchenko said that he and his hosts discussed the possibility of the pipeline bypassing the Adriatic considering the concern of the Croatian public regarding possible environmental impacts of the project.
In any case, the impression is that nobody wants to undermine the project, but rather to find the best way to implement it, taking into consideration the environmental aspects, Poltavchenko said.