Montenegro won't give up on expelling Serbian ambassador: "Bozovic presented government's views"

Vladimir Bozovic / Photo: Marko Jovanovic

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro announced today that it will not withdraw the decision to expel the ambassador of Serbia to that country, Vladimir Bozovic, Montenegrin media are reporting.

Recommended

Serbia yesterday decided to withdraw the previously adopted reciprocal measure, by which the ambassador of Montenegro to our country, Tarzan Milosevic, was declared a "persona non grata."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro, as well as the European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi welcome the decision of the Government of the Republic of Serbia not to expell the Montenegrin ambassador, because, said the Montenegrin MFA, there was no reason for that in the first place.

"Ambassador Tarzan Milosevic represents his countrywhile respecting the Republic of Serbia, not interfering in its internal affairs, acting with restraint towards the host country even when Montenegro is rudely insulted and humiliated from various addresses in Serbia, when Montenegrin state symbols are defaced, because of which various international addresses have reacted," the Montenegrin MFA said.

"Unlike ours, the ambassador of Serbia to Montenegro continuously interfered in the internal affairs of the country in which he serves, bringing into question its independence with his interpretation of history, denying the Resolution of the Assembly of Montenegro on the illegitimate Podgorica Assembly, which he knows what it represented in our history," the statement stressed.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeatedly drew its attention to this, with a warning that this is illegal and undiplomatic behavior towards the host country. Unfortunately, this was in vain and did not meet with understanding," said the ministry.

Therefore, as they added, this Government and the Ministry will not withdraw their decision.

"All the more so because the incomprehensible statement of Prime Minister Ana Brnabic in fact says that Ambassador Bozovic actually conveyed the official positions of the Serbian Government, which is a confirmation and continuation of gross interference in Montenegro's internal affairs," the statement reads.

"This time as well, European Commissioner (Oliver) Varhelyi failed to at least exchange basic information and opinions on the merits of the matter with his partners and friends in Montenegro, with whom he has discussed many times more difficult and delicate issues in the region. We believe that he, particularly as someone who comes from Hungary, a country that has a heightened sensitivity to issues of this nature, as a politician and official would better understand our relationship with the ambassador who continuously interferes in internal affairs and violates national interests of the host country," said the press release.

The ministry says that Montenegro is fully and truly committed to regional cooperation and good neighborly relations.

"This is not only a pillar of European integration, as Commissioner Varhelyi pointed out, but a key element of our foreign policy, which we have been promoting in all bilateral and multilateral frameworks for years, which is very well known to our European partners. Therefore, we are firmly convinced about the correctness of our decision, considering that we cannot tolerate the humiliation of the Montenegrin state and national dignity by diplomatic representatives in our country," said the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

(Telegraf.rs)