Podgorica, (MINA) – Montenegrin president Milo Djukanovic stated that the relations with Serbia and its president Aleksandar Vucic did not go cold, but that they are not as they used to be.
“There are meetings, official and unofficial, a bit more unofficial and not so long time ago, there is communication”, Djukanovic told BN Television.
He argues that the relations are not as good as they used to be.
“It was not long time ago when we had messages about great ties coming from the both sides, while today, without going deep into it, only by analyzing political public messages and editorial politics of most of the media outlets, we can conclude that the relations are not as good as they used to be”, said Djukanovic.
He said that he does not notice any conflict with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) and stated that good atmosphere between the state and religious communities in Montenegro will be preserved.
Djukanovic claims that the state’s idea was to adopt a new law, as a part of the new legal system of Montenegro, and that defining the issue of national property cannot be avoided when adopting such a law.
“We have consulted European legal experts and they gave us the green light to continue along the path we chose, confirming that it would be in line with the European legal standards in that area”, Djukanovic explained.
Asked if the agreement between the governments of Kosovo and Albania on coordinating their foreign policies means creation of “Greater Albania”, the Montenegrin president said that once the European perspective is obscured, such ideas start to emerge which at the beginning maybe have no negative undertone, as it could be assumed now.
“When you let such ideas gain in force, when the spirit exits the bottle, then all those who believe they are capable of being in absolute control of the situation are wrong”, said Djukanovic.
He added that, based on his personal experience, he could confirm that some people in the 1990s with much stronger capacities than some who are around today, let the things get out of their control.
“Therefore, I am returning to my primary message. To the extent we are smart enough to stay on the strategic course of European integration and to the extent we would manage to animate the EU to, not just declaratively, but truly open its door to the Western Balkans, we will have much better chances than to accept the retrograde alternatives we are talking about now”, said Djukanovic.
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