The pro-Serbian political parties that have recently joined the government of Montenegro will try to revoke the country’s recognition of Kosovo if they remain in power for an extended period.
This is the view of Zlatko Vujović, a professor at the Faculty of Political Science in Podgorica and Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Center for Monitoring and Research.
In an interview with “Kosovo Online,” Vujović said that representatives of Serbian political parties in the Montenegrin government might try to reduce relations with Kosovo to a minimum and reverse them wherever possible.
“The current government of Montenegro, which is dominated by pro-Serbian and pro-Russian parties, has a negative stance toward Kosovo and its independence, and is not interested in maintaining good neighborly relations with Kosovo. What they may tactically do is ensure that actions by certain ministries, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or European Integration, do not alarm our Western partners to avoid jeopardizing some of their interests. However, wherever possible, in the coming period, they will try to minimize relations with Kosovo and undo those relationships. When it comes to the possible revocation of recognition, it is difficult to do at this moment due to Western pressure, but in the foreseeable future, if this governing majority remains, I would not rule out that possibility, especially if something goes wrong with European integration,” Vujović said.
He added that “the carrot – that Montenegro could be in the EU by 2030 – on the one hand motivates some people more, and on the other hand increases pressure from Belgrade, which is trying in every way to stop Montenegro’s entry into the EU.” Vujović emphasized that this is a complex relationship of intertwined interests and interventions, in which it is sometimes unclear what the next move of the Montenegrin government will be.
“If the prospect of European integration becomes almost non-existent, if it collapses under pressure from Belgrade, then this governing coalition would have no motivation to maintain relations with Kosovo. Just as they adopted the Declaration on Jasenovac, despite the Western partners’ opposition to it, in a future moment when Mandić and Knežević want to show loyalty to official Belgrade, such a decision should not be ruled out, as it does not require a parliamentary vote, but only a majority in the government, and now that government majority is completely different from what it appeared before the reformatting,” Vujović explained.
