Podgorica, (MINA) - Paying respect to the victims of Jasenovac is necessary and morally binding, but certain political circles in Montenegro are not acting sincerely, but are instead seeking to worsen relations between the two countries, said Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman. 

The Parliament of Montenegro will for the first time commemorate the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Genocide in the Jasenovac, Mauthausen and Dachau camp system with a symbolic program on Tuesday. The decision follows the adoption of the resolution on Jasenovac in June 2024, which sparked protests in Zagreb.

Speaking about the announcement coming from Montenegro, Grlic Radman emphasized that every year all Croatian institutions pay tribute to the victims of the Ustase regime during the Second World War.

“It is necessary and morally binding” Grlic Radman said, Index.hr reports.

However, he said that certain political circles in Montenegro that initiated the commemoration have “the least right to speak about Jasenovac”, as they identify “with Chetnik heritage, but also deny the genocide in Srebrenica”.

Grlic Radman stated that Montenegro must face “the dark past of the 1990s, during which its citizens attacked and destroyed Dubrovnik and robbed, killed and took civilians to the Morinj camp”.

Grlic Radman said that fostering good neighborly relations is the EU’s principle, which Montenegro aspires to.