After the municipalities of Zeta and Pljevlja, Montenegro’s pro-Serbian Democratic People’s Party (DNP) is preparing to expand its campaign for symbolic declarations calling for the withdrawal of Kosovo’s recognition.
DNP leader Milan Knežević announced that his party will soon reveal the next municipality where it plans to seek the adoption of a declaration calling for the “derecognition” of Kosovo, although he did not specify which municipality it will be.
The announcement follows the adoption of a similar declaration by the Municipal Assembly of Pljevlja, making it the second municipality in Montenegro, after Zeta, to approve such a measure at the initiative of the DNP.
The declaration was supported by all 18 councilors present during the vote. Representatives of the Europe Now Movement (PES) and one independent councilor left the session before the vote, while councilors from the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) did not attend the meeting.
Knežević welcomed the decision, describing Montenegro’s recognition of Kosovo as a “historical injustice.” Speaking from Washington, he also announced that the DNP had launched a diplomatic campaign under the slogan “Make Montenegro Great Again.”
Although the municipal declarations carry no legal effect, as the recognition or withdrawal of recognition of states falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of Montenegro’s national government, the initiatives have become a political platform for pro-Serbian parties in municipalities where they hold a majority.
The move by Pljevlja prompted immediate criticism in Podgorica. Public Administration Minister Marash Dukaj stated that municipalities have no authority over foreign policy, arguing that such initiatives undermine Montenegro’s European integration path and its good-neighborly relations.
Representatives of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) also criticized the declarations, saying they deepen political divisions and send negative signals to Montenegro’s European partners.
Following similar initiatives in Zeta and Pljevlja, pro-Serbian political parties have also submitted a request to introduce an identical declaration in the coastal municipality of Herceg Novi, seeking to place the Kosovo issue on the agenda of the local assembly.
