Vucic: Montenegro joining Open Balkan would be good news

Photo: Tanjug/Zoran Zestic

If Montenegro decides to enter the Open Balkan initiative, it would be good news that we would welcome, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said last night and pointed out that the decision to join is exclusively a sovereign right of Podgorica.

Recommended

In an interview with Happy TV given in Verona, he said that even if Montenegro does not decide to join, one should not despair.

He explained that Open Balkan can be seen as part of the Berlin process, but it is still different, because representatives of three countries implement decisions themselves without any pressure from the outside.

"What's bad about that, there would be less waiting at the borders, I believe that is good for the citizens of Montenegro, but we will wait for whatever decision they make," said Vucic.

He recalled that the newly elected president of Montenegro, Jakov Milatovic, spoke positively about Open Balkan in the campaign, and as for the current prime minister, Dritan Abazovic, Vucic reminded that he has repeatedly said that he is absolutely in favor of Montenegro joining.

"But that is exclusively their decision," repeated Vucic.

He noticed that whenever there is talk about Open Balkan, there is always talk about who is inside, and never what we are achieving, and, according to him, a lot is being achieved.

As an example, he mentioned that the procedure and movement of authorized producers and traders across the borders of the three member countries of the Open Balkan initiative has been drastically accelerated, the procedures have been significantly simplified, and there are now phytosanitary inspections at the borders.

"The question is always asked why someone is not there, it is enough that we have three members, and would I like to have four or five, yes. But that cannot be based on us now exerting pressure...," says Vucic.

Regarding the relations with Montenegro after the election of Milatovic as president, Vucic says that it is important to promote reconciliation, that there should be no accusations like there had been, and they were based on nothing, because Serbia was always to blame as far as Montenegro's former president was concerned.

"We were silent on that, rarely replied, I hope that cooperation in all fields will be the basic motto and not accusing each other," Vucic is clear.

Asked to comment on the writing of Vienna Standard about relations between Serbia and Montenegro, Vucic points out that this is one of the anti-Serbian newspapers that tells lies almost every day and that this has almost become a mantra.

"Don't read that nonsense," says the president and points out to two things.

"According to them, Serbia must always be to blame, and another important reason is to make the authorities in Montenegro never even think that they should have good relations with Serbia, because we serve Russia and the Kremlin. Those are their tricks - tit's a tie between the Guardian and them, who will lie more," says Vucic.

He recalled that Serbia is being accused of wanting to attack someone in the region and this has been going on since the conflict in Ukraine started.

"We wonder what we are guilty of, nothing, but pressure is being exerted that we are the aggressor in our country... And that's those tricks," the president stated.

When it comes to Serbia's policy in the region, he stressed that it is a policy of cooperation and good relations.

"We did not respond to the numerous untruths said by Djukanovic about Serbia in the campaign, I said that I would respond... But now... I don't like to kick somebody when they're down. When you are in the ring and your hands are free to fight is one matter, I will not participate in anything else," concluded Vucic.

(Telegraf.rs)