Vukelic announced the settlement of the debt after he and the Russian minister of civilian affairs and extraordinary situations, Sergey Shoygu, signed a protocol from the fourth session of the intergovernmental Croatian-Russian commission in Zagreb on Wednesday.
Procedure for the conclusion of an agreement on debt clearance has been initiated and the document is likely to be signed in the coming weeks, the Croatian minister said.
The agreement is expected to regulate the provision of equipment for thermo-power plants in the Croatian cities of Sisak and Osijek, equipment for the construction of a gas pipeline towards the Hungarian border, and the delivery of two BE-200 fire-fighting planes, he added.
The Croatian official expressed satisfaction with a 72.3-percent rise in the trade between the two countries in the first half of 2004 in comparison to the first half of 2003. Trade totalled 512.6 million US dollars with Croatia's exports amounting to 48.8 million.
The above-mentioned bilateral commission for commercial, economic and scientific cooperation today wrapped up a two-day session at which it considered cooperation in the sectors of power supplies, shipbuilding, banking and rescue operations.
"We talked about the DruzbaAdria project for the construction of an oil pipeline (from Russia to Croatia) and I informed Minister Shoygu that a study on possible effects on environmental protection has been forwarded to the Environmental Protection Ministry which is now supposed to set up a group of experts to assess the study," Vukelic said.
Minister Shoygu, who will depart for Moscow on Wednesday evening, will take medical assistance worth 100,000 kuna which the Croatian government ensured for the victims of the Beslan terrorist attack.