Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlic-Radman said during a visit to Cyprus on Thursday that Croatia wanted to join the Med7 group.

MED7 is an alliance of Mediterranean EU member states Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and Spain.

During a meeting with his counterpart Nikos Christodoulides, Grlic-Radman said that Croatia wanted to join and participate in the dialogue of the Mediterranean countries.

This was the first visit by a Croatian foreign minister to Cyprus in 12 years. Grlic-Radman took the opportunity to thank Cyprus for its assistance to Croatia after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Sisak-Moslavina County in late December. He said that their kind gesture and solidarity were a true sign of friendship between the two countries.

Grlic-Radman said that Croatia supported a peaceful solution to the Cyprus issue, a solution that would be compatible with the relevant UN resolutions, international law and the EU acquis and that would support the unification of the island as a bicommunal, bizonal federation with single sovereignty.

The two ministers also discussed migration management, the situation in southeast Europe, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Grlic-Radman said that today’s meeting was yet another opportunity to deepen dialogue and advance cooperation, telling his host that he expected him in Zagreb soon.