Dacic on Montenegro's move: Let this measure remain all year so our people come to their senses

Photo: Tanjug/Sava Radovanovic

The decision of the Directorate of Civil Aviation to deny the Montenegrin carrier Montenegro Airlines the permission to land at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport is a logical sequence of events, said Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and explained that if our carrier cannot fly there, it is logical that a reciprocal measure is introduced.

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"True reciprocal measures would be if Serbia banned the entry of Montenegrin citizens into Serbia, which did not happen. As far as I am concerned, let this measure remain in force until the end of the year. Let our people come to their senses a little. If someone doesn't want us, we don't want them either. Everyone chooses who they will tango with," he told TV Prva.

He said that for Serbia, what's most important is the position and rights of the Serb people in Montenegro, and that the key question now is whether the two peoples will clash or cooperate with each other and "be brothers as they always have been."

Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic announced on Monday that Montenegro's borders would reopen with several countries in early June, not including Serbia, and Dacic said that the issue should be resolved rationally, without emotions.

"Whether Serbia and Montenegro will live in one country or in several countries is a completely secondary issue, the key is whether Serbs and Montenegrins will cooperate with each other, we are interested in the rights of the Serb people," said Dacic.

Asked whether Montenegro is safe for Serbs now, Dacic said that the security situation would be assessed, but that there have been no such assessments at the official level yet.

As he said, the only thing that surprises him is that Kosovo is not on the Montenegrin list for opening the border, because as he commented ironically, "Montenegrins are their traditional, centuries-old friends."

He added that Montenegro dealt the biggest "blow" to Serbs by not opening the border, and pointed out that he believes that there will be fewer Serbian tourists in Montenegro this year.

(Telegraf.rs)