The Russian state has no direct influence on the management of the refinery in Bosanski Brod, but the management of that refinery, which is Russian-owned, has been advised to openly state what problems they are facing and what they are doing to resolve them, said Russian Minister for Emergency Situations Vladimir Puchkov today in Zagreb regarding the air pollution issue in Slavonski Brod after a meeting with the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Croatian Government and Minister of Economy Radimir Čačić.
‘According to Russian laws, the government must not interfere in the management of a company. We recommended the refinery’s management to literally open the doors and show all the problems they have had, and they have, and to state what measures they are taking to prevent a possible incident,’ said Puchkov after a working meeting of the intergovernmental Croatian-Russian commission for trade, economic, and scientific-technical cooperation.
According to him, Russian citizens are also disturbed by the news of air pollution in Croatia, as many vacation or do business in Croatia. Russians are angry about this issue; hundreds of thousands are vacationing here, many have companies or real estate here, he said, adding that a working group has been established to investigate the situation and inform the public of the findings in both Russia and Croatia.
‘A mandate has been issued to investigate the situation and for the company to openly show what difficulties they are facing and to clearly define the measures and steps that will lead to a change in this situation,’ said the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia and Minister of Economy Čačić.
The two ministers also discussed the possibilities of Croatia’s connection to the South Stream gas pipeline. A commission has been established to define positions and procedures regarding the agreement signed by the previous government, namely then Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor.
‘Kosor signed the agreement on this connection in 2010. This does not refer to the main pipeline. Unfortunately, Croatia rejected the main pipeline,’ said Čačić. ‘We reopened this topic and pointed out what advantages Croatia would have here, but due to the obligations Russia undertook towards Hungary when Croatia rejected this project, unfortunately, nothing has changed in this segment,’ he said, adding that Croatia now needs to ensure quality supply through the connection.
‘Now we have cooperation ahead of us in the connection segment to ensure a better supply, which is in the interest of both the Russian and Croatian sides. It is not the dimension of the main pipeline, but it is very important,’ said Čačić.
The two countries are also considering some possibilities for connecting Russian investments in the energy sector, specifically at the Sisak thermal power plant, in combination with orders for special ships. However, this is just an idea that needs to be considered in business terms, said Čačić.
