PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR CONFIRMS PUTIN CROATIA VISIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000404 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/24/2017 TAGS: PREL ENRG HR RS SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR CONFIRMS PUTIN CROATIA VISIT Classified By: DCM Greg Delawie for reasons 1.4 b and d. ¶1. (C) Summary: Tomislav Jakic, Foreign Policy Advisor to Croatian President Mesic, confirmed in an April 23 meeting with DCM that Russian President Putin will visit Croatia June 23-24. The centerpiece of the visit will be a regional energy summit that the GOC has organized, inviting heads of state from all the ex-Yugoslav countries, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania, in addition to reps from the EU and OPEC. End Summary. ¶2. (C) DCM met with Croatian presidential advisor Tomislav Jakic on April 23 to clarify rumors that have been circulating in the Croatian press for weeks regarding a possible visit to Croatia by Russian President Putin. Jakic confirmed that Croatian President Mesic had invited Putin to Croatia and that the Croatian side was "ninety percent sure he will come." According to Jakic, Putin will spend two days in Croatia, with a bilateral program on June 23 and then participate in a regional energy summit in Zagreb on June 24. Jakic said that he understood from the Russian side that Putin would also visit other countries in the region after Croatia. ¶3. (C) Anticipating the question of how this meeting would further the cause of securing energy supplies for the region, Jakic said that the GOC was working on a declaration that will affirm the right of all states to purchase energy under free market conditions and condemn the use of energy for political purposes. He said that the Russians had accused Croatia of an anti-Russian bias in business lately, which he said was false and simply symptomatic of larger Croatian problems in handling relations with foreign investors. ¶4. (C) Comment: The initiative for the Putin visit appears to have come from the presidential administration. The Prime Minister is, in fact, concerned about growing Russian economic influence in the region, a point he recently shared with Ambassador. President Mesic, however, has been much more supportive of Russian projects, including the Druzhba-Adria oil pipeline, of which he appears to be one of the few remaining supporters in Croatia. Jakic denied that Putin would come with any strings attached on energy projects. End Comment. BRADTKE