Russia's ambassador to Croatia, Anvar Azimov, said on Tuesday he was considering organising a meeting of the two country's presidents, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and Vladimir Putin, during this summer's World Cup hosted by Russia.

“I’m thinking of setting up a meeting of my president (Vladimir Putin) and President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, perhaps in one of the cities that the Croatian national team will play in,” Azimov said, at an informal event in Zagreb dedicated to Croatia national football team’s appearance in the World Cup.

In June, Croatia is scheduled to play its initial three group stage matches in Kaliningrad vs Nigeria, in Nizhny Novgorod vs Argentina, and in Rostov-on-Don vs Iceland.

Azimov also commented on the recent strikes against Syria and added that the tensions between Russia and the West should not be allowed to influence the bilateral cooperation between Russia and Croatia.

“That was not even an attack, that was an act of aggression against a sovereign country,” Azimov said about the coordinated strikes over the weekend by the US, the UK and France, and supported by Croatia and the European Union. The strikes came in response to a chemical attack on civilians that western countries say was ordered by the regime of Syria’s President al-Assad.

In spite of Croatia officially supporting the atrikes, Azimov called on Croatian supporters to visit Russia and experience its hospitality.