ZAGREB, February 12, 2018 - The United States doesn't want INA to be bought by a Russian company, the new U.S. ambassador to Croatia, Robert Kohorst, said on Monday, saying that that acquisition would be a mistake.
It is up to Croatia to decide to whom it will sell the company, however, we think that that would be a mistake, Kohorst told reporters.
According to Kohorst, Russia is a disturbing factor in the region and the US would like to see a partner country that would make that deal to be one whose strong interest is for Croatia to be successful. We want Croatia to have a partner that is willing to offer support, he added.
He underscored that the US is encouraged by the fact that the government has published a tender to select a qualified consultant.
The first step in any negotiations is to properly understand the facts and alternatives (...) and it seems that these consultants, some of whom are American and some European companies, are very qualified consultants and as soon as they are engaged, they will be able to advise the government and then you are in a position to conclude a better commercial agreement, Kohorst said.
We recommend that Croatia should hire the best consultants and to reach a good commercial agreement, he added.
At the end of last year the director of Russia's oil giant, Rosneft, said that that his company was interested in buying shares in INA. “We’re certainly interested in investments in this region and we’re considering the possibility of entering INA’s ownership structure,” Sechin said then.
