The ruling coalition in Montenegro is politically dependent on people who repeat every day that they will never recognize the independence of Kosovo. This was stated by Ivan Vuković, a politician from Montenegro.
Vuković, who has also served as the mayor of Podgorica, recalls that Montenegro had a clear path when it came to foreign policy, which included European and Euro-Atlantic integration and the best possible relations with its neighbors.
Today, he says, “the situation is such that, due to relations with Croatia, Montenegro has not closed one of the four chapters planned in the EU negotiation process, Bosnia and Herzegovina has sent protest notes over the actions of the Speaker of the Parliament, and the fact that Montenegro recognized the independence of Kosovo in 2008 is being relativized,” writes Pobjeda.
“The ruling coalition depends politically on people who repeat every day that they will never recognize the independence of Kosovo, or as they say, Kosovo is for them a southern Serbian province. This results in a dilemma for the state of Montenegro and its highest authorities, who secretly send messages on the occasion of Kosovo’s Independence Day, only to respect the procedure and diplomatic protocol. They do not have the courage to do this publicly, either in relation to Kosovo or to all the states that Montenegro has recognized. After all, the future of good neighborly relations and Montenegro’s European integration depends on these matters,” says Vuković, who claims that the main voice in the government is held by parties aligned with the interests of official Belgrade, referring here to the Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament, Andrija Mandić.
