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Communication channels between EU, Russia should remain open, says Croatian top diplomat

The Croatian top diplomat expressed confidence that an intergovernmental bilateral commission on economic and scientific and technical cooperation plays a significant role in the process of deepening the relations between Croatia and Russia

ZAGREB, December 16. /TASS/. Channels of communication between the European Union and Russia should remain open despite actual challenges, Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlic-Radman said after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov at a press conference on Wednesday.

"With the minister I <...> also talked about those spheres where it is possible to deepen the cooperation with the European Union and the Russian Federation. I emphasized that it is necessary to keep the communication channels open and be capable of always looking ahead, despite the actual challenges that exist in the relations [of the EU and Russia]," he noted.

"I am confident that the visit of minister Lavrov will serve as an additional impetus to the continuation of the development of positive direction of Croatian-Russian relations. Our talks today confirmed that there is not only the potential but also readiness on both sides," the top diplomat said.

"With Minister Lavrov we signed a plan of consultations between the two Foreign Ministries for the period of 2021-2022, and additionally minister Lavrov and Culture Minister, Ms. [Nina] Obuljen Korzinek, signed a program on cultural cooperation between our two governments for the period from 2020 through 2022," he added.

The Croatian top diplomat expressed confidence that an intergovernmental bilateral commission on economic and scientific and technical cooperation plays a significant role in the process of deepening the relations between Croatia and Russia. "Among other things we also stated that there are opportunities to develop cooperation in the sphere of tourism which we will also continue to work on intensively," he noted.

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