"The Republic of Croatia is the first successor country to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to have settled the issue of a USD185.7 million debt," Grabar-Kitarovic said.
The agreement on debt clearance was signed in June this year, and a protocol is now being prepared specifying goods and services Russia will provide over a period of five years to compensate for the debt.
During talks between Grabar-Kitarovic and her host, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, which continued over lunch, the Russian side expressed its interest in the greater involvement of Croatia and all Southeast European countries in trans-European energy projects.
In this context also discussed were the Druzba Adria oil pipeline project and the Pan-European Oil Pipeline (PEOP) project. Croatia confirmed its interest in taking advantage of its favourable geographical position, emphasising the importance of high environmental standards, Grabar-Kitarovic said.
She informed Lavrov of an initiative to consider the two projects in the light of possible integration of the Croatian oil system with Slovenia and Italy, taking into consideration the protection of the Adriatic Sea.
Grabar-Kitarovic said she had conveyed the interest of Croatian construction companies in housing construction projects and called on Russian companies to participate in infrastructure projects, particularly those relating to the cleaning of rivers and construction of bridges.
The Croatian minister said that the sale of land for the construction of a new Russian embassy in Zagreb was one of the topics discussed.
Grabar-Kitarovic said that the Croatian government was still negotiating with the City of Zagreb an agreement on the sale of land. "It is now up to the city authorities to transfer the land to state ownership," she said, adding that the government was in close contact with the Russian Embassy in Zagreb and the city authorities in order to carry through the agreement.