Maxim Poletaev, the deputy chairman the executive board of Russia's Sberbank, is expected to arrive on Tuesday in Zagreb to meet with government officials, a government source told N1.

Sberbank is the largest single creditor of the indebted food and retail group Agrokor, with a €1.1 billion claim, out of the company’s total debt of around €7.8 billion.

Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolusic also arrived at the government building on Tuesday morning, and was asked to comment on the meeting with Poletaev.

“I see no problem with prime minister meeting with anyone in the country, whether this means talking to (retail group) Adris, or with (Sberbank’s) Poletaev – who is an important factor in terms of reaching a settlement, and after all, represents a bank with presence in Croatia,” Tolusic told N1.

The privately-owned company had been taken over by state administration in April 2017, tasked with overseeing its orderly restructuring to ensure its survival. Agrokor is one of the largest company in the country, employing 60,000 workers across the region before its crisis started in early 2017.

A debt-for-equity settlement with company’s creditors is seen as a key step in the administration process, and the legally mandated deadline to agree on the plan is July 10.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic had previously met with the CEO of Adris group, Ante Vlahovic, on Monday. Adris has a €135.5 million debt claim against Agrokor.

Follow N1 via mobile apps for Android | iPhone/iPad | Windows| and social media on Twitter | Facebook.