Russia's Ambassador to Croatia Anvar Azimov gave an exclusive interview to N1 in which he talked about the World Cup in Russia and the situation in the Croatian indebted company Agrokor.

We are just moments away from the start of the World Cup, from the opening ceremony, so first off I would like to ask you, what can Croatian fans expect from the cities where the Croatian national team will be playing? They are not tourist cities like Moscow or Saint Petersburg.

We are extremely happy that in a few hours the soccer World Championship will start. We have prepared for this championship for almost seven years, everything is ready, all 11 cities and stadiums are ready. Our main motto of the championship is that football and sports should be above politics. We are against any politicisation of the sport, and naturally, the winner will be the strongest team. The cities where the Croatian team will play, they are historically very beautiful, very interesting, Kaliningrad, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod… but I think it is not the target of the Croatian team, to come to these three cities. The main target will be to come to Saint Petersburg, to the semifinals, and I am sure the Croatian team, taking into consideration its composition, is perhaps one of the strongest in the history of Croatia, and it is really an excellent and golden chance to show all the beauty of Croatian football. We wish success to the Croatian fans, they will be most welcome in all the cities. Croatia is very popular among the Russians, Croatia is considered to be one of the friendliest countries of the Russian Federation.

Are there going to be any strict rules regarding hooligans?

Some of the fans who have aggressive character, hooligans, etc, they will not be allowed to come to Russia to the World Championship. We have certain restrictions, we were screening the fans, and the behaviour of the Croatian fans is very important for the national team. I appeal to the Croatian fans to be disciplined, to be friendly, and to show the real character of Croatia, which is very open, very sincere, and very friendly. Yes, the police will be strict, there will be Russian police, international police, there will also be representatives of the Croatian police, but the main advice to all policemen was to keep the discipline, but at the same time not to create any problems for the fans. Let them enjoy this great holiday of football.

The NGO Human Rights Watch is calling for the boycott of the opening ceremony by the political leaders. How do you comment on that?

I think that all the countries of the world know that Russia has the greatest and the strongest president. By the way, one of the most important achievements of this championship, that all of the Western propaganda, completely failed in trying to blackmail this championship, to block the participation of different leaders in this championship. I want to inform you that many presidents of different nations will come. From the point of view of the human rights, my opinion is that the situation with the human rights in Russia is much better compared with the situation of human rights in United States, in the European Union. Actually, they have to learn from us how to deal with the human rights problems. There is a problem of human rights, but during this championship, this is not an issue.

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said she would not be coming for the first, group phase, probably later, if the Croatian national team goes through. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said also he would not be attending the first phase matches. Is a meeting between president Putin and president Grabar-Kitarovic possible later on, after the group stage, if she comes to Russia?

First of all, I want to mention that you have an excellent president. She is a very realistic, pragmatic, and a very wise person. Maybe president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic wants to come to Saint Petersburg, and she will be most welcome there. By the way, the governor of Saint Petersburg, (Georgy) Poltavchenko, was in Croatia, he met the president, and invited her to come to Saint Petersburg. There will be no bilateral talks during the championship, because so many leaders will come to Russia. At present there are no plans of a meeting between your president and my president during this World Championship. But, the visit of my president to Croatia is on the agenda, and we are working hard to prepare it. I do not exclude that this visit will take place before your next presidential election.

The main topic in Croatia is Agrokor. How do you see the situation now, do you think that a deal is possible?

I am sure that, if Sberbank and VTB bank were involved more actively in the initial stage of the crisis, I think the situation would already be stabilised in Agrokor. Now, Sberbank and VTB bank have agreed to play the dominant role in improving the situation in Agrokor, and this role is very good for Croatia. As I told the press, it is not the business of the ambassadors to give advice to the government. It is strange, there are EU countries, there are strategic partners of Croatia, but Russian banks are saving Agrokor. Why is this happening? Because Russia is a committed and very reliable friend of Croatia. I am absolutely sure that Sberbank and VTB will be able to stabilise the situation in Agrokor.

How do you comment on the information that surfaced last month, after the e-mail scandal broke out? It is well known from those e-mails that the Croatian government, the Deputy Prime Minister of Croatian government Martina Dalic, was not honest in talks with the management of Sberbank, and later on it was confirmed that the Croatian attorneys of the VTB bank were also working on the law Lex Agrokor.

I do not want to be involved in the discussion of these internal aspects of the situation. Honestly I want to tell you that you had a very talented Deputy Prime Minister. I personally have a very high opinion of Martina Dalic. Whatever happened has happened, but I think Martina Dalic served the interests of Croatian people and economy. She maintained a normal, and I would say constructive, dialogue with the leaders of Sberbank as well. I have never heard from the leaders of Sberbank any criticism towards Martina Dalic. They respected her, she was a very strong, sometimes a very tough negotiator, but she defended the interests of Croatia. That is why I would not comment on the internal things, these different leaks. Perhaps we still do not know the whole truth, some more facts may appear. The most important question now is not to look into the past, but to look into the future. And from that point of view, Russia is giving the proper assistance to Agrokor, and the economy of Croatia in general.

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