Croatia has exceptional cooperation with and promises from the Greek authorities that Croatian nationals will be safe in prisons after being arrested for participating in football supporters' riots in Athens in which one Greek was killed, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said on Saturday.

A Croatian delegation led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic is travelling to Greece on Monday for an informal meeting of Southeast European leaders. He is expected to meet with Greek Prime Minister  Kyriakos Mitsotakis, while Grlic Radman and Croatian Justice Minister Ivan Malenica are expected to meet with their Greek counterparts.

Their talks will likely address the recent hooligan riots in Athens in which one AFK Athens supporter was killed, due to which 102 Croatians have been put in several Greek prisons.

“We are concerned about their safety. We are in contact with the prime minister. Prime Minister Plenkovic is in contact with his counterpart Mitsotakis, I with my counterpart, Malenica with his,” Grlic Radman told press in Bile, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The Greek authorities have promised that the safety of the Croatian citizens will be guaranteed,” he added.

Earlier this week, Plenkovic said that in Greece, besides condemning hooliganism and honouring the killed Greek, he would request equitable treatment for the Croatian nationals, humane treatment in prisons, and deportation to Croatia of those proven not to have had anything to do with the gravest crimes of which they are suspected.

The regional two-day meeting in Athens will discuss the future of the European integration of Southeast European countries and Europe’s stability and security in the context of the Russian aggression on Ukraine.

“The continent’s stability and the security of Southeast Europe and Western Balkan countries is extremely important to us,” said Grlic Radman.

Asked about BiH’s EU perspective, he said that was “Croatia’s national interest.”

“We have been supporting BiH’s efforts on that path from the very start. Thanks to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina was given candidate status last year and I hope that accession negotiations with the Union will begin by the end of this year,” he added.