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Darmanović: Hostile propaganda against Montenegro was launched in Belgrade

Srđan Darmanović

Commenting on the attitude of the international community concerning current events in Montenegro after the adoption of the Law on Freedom of Religion, Mr Srđan Darmanović, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that Podgorica was holding consultations with NATO allies and EU partners regarding the matter.

“They think this is Montenegro’s internal issue and that there was no need for their involvement that would be sort of arbitration. Of course, every piece of advice we got was useful and benevolent and we chose address the issue through dialogue”, Mr Darmanović said to MINA agency.

He said that “our NATO allies” had also recognized meddling into Montenegro’s internal affairs.

Mr Darmanović touched on the statements made recently by State Department that the propaganda war had been coordinated from Moscow.

“The unprecedented propaganda against us was launched from Belgrade”, Mr Darmanović said.

According to him, Russia doesn’t need to be more visible this time, although it has certain interests in the region.

“Some neighbors of ours do that with more energy than usual, and Russia can watch calmly its main partners doing that job. I believe we are strong enough to overcome that”, Mr Darmanović said.

Commenting on the statements made by church chiefs that “Russia created Montenegro”, Mr Darmanović said it was quite ridiculous. Montenegro, he added, was created by its citizens.

Montenegro is based on western and European values and value system of the Atlantic community.

Mr Darmanović thinks that the problem of the Serbian Orthodox Church is not the Law, but Montenegro’s orientation, its course and its politics.

“The problem is what we want to be. If the vision advocated by the Serbian Orthodox Church won, Montenegro would maybe remain independent, but it would become a Serbian country”, Mr Darmanović said.

Asked if it was real that the EU could be a mediator in relation to the Law, Mr Darmanović said there was no need for that.

“Our institutions can resolve any problem, related to any law. If anybody has problem with any law, the Constitutional Court is the right address”, Mr Darmanović said.

Commenting on some media’s reports stating that Serbia was considering the possibility to quit representing Montenegro in the countries where Podgorica hasn’t got its embassies, Mr Darmanović says “it doesn’t seem real”.

“First and foremost, there are no Montenegrin diplomats in Serbian embassies, because we don’t share our diplomatic representations with anyone”, Mr Darmanović explained.

The European Commission takes care of the competitiveness of other forces in the region and sees enlargement policy as technical and political process to a great extent, Minister Darmanović says.

He said that comparative analysis would show what the pros and cons of the new methodology were.

Mr Darmanović pointed out that the main difference reflected in the opening chapters in clusters.

Asked if it is possible for North Macedonia and Albania to be given green light for the start of negotiation talks in Brussels this month, Mr Darmanović answered that Montenegro firmly believed so.

He pointed out that Montenegro strongly supported its neighbors and partners from the region in their EU aspirations.

Mr Darmanović said that messages of almost all key people from the EC were very encouraging.

“Now the messages should become actions and we’ll see what their implementation will be like”, Mr Darmanović said.

Mr Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissionaire for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy, insisted that at least one WB country should accede the Union during his term of office, Mr Darmanović reminds.

“We think we can guess which country it could be. The one that has made the greatest progress in the negotiation process”, Mr Darmanović said.

 

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