Croatian leader says Trump, Putin key to peace

Croatia's president hopes her American and Russian counterparts show "responsibility" and remember they are the guarantors of the whole world's stability when they hold their first summit today.

In an interview with The Associated Press yesterday, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic also shrugged off US President Donald Trump's aggressive behavior with NATO allies at a meeting on Wednesday and Thursday.

"It's about his personality. I don't take it against him," she said.

Grabar-Kitarovic, who lived through Croatia's 1991 independence war and governs in a region that has been caught up in larger geopolitical battles, said Trump's meeting Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin could calm international tensions instead of inflame them.

"I'm really hopeful that the two state leaders will show enough ... responsibility for global stability and the trans-Atlantic relationship," said Grabar-Kitarovic, who met Putin at the Kremlin yesterday before her country's team played in the World Cup final.

She expressed concern about Russian interference in southeast Europe, where Moscow has sought to use its economic influence and powerful energy sector to counter EU and NATO outreach.

But Grabar-Kitarovic insisted on the importance of talking to Russia instead of isolating it.

"We want to have a dialogue about common threats to our security," she said.

"We have to work together."