Good morning! Spajic was five minutes late for the meeting and Rumen Radev could not wait. The Bulgarian president also walked through Cetinje by himself. Radev is known for his pro-Russian and anti-Ukraine stance. Although they may have done it by accident, I think it’s good that they humiliated him.
Click here to join our Viber group, where we update you live from hour to hour and answer your questions directly.
Who is Rumen Radev whom Spajic blew off?
Montenegro and Bulgaria have relations that go back deep into the Middle Ages. A Montenegrin was briefly the emperor of Bulgaria. You didn’t know about that? Namely, during the Slavic uprising against Byzantium, Bodin Vojislavljevic was crowned emperor of Bulgaria for a few months, but it’s another story.
President Radev is a former pilot and soldier, a politician who for the second term is surviving in cohabitation with governments that are more or less unfriendly to him. He is considered the political archenemy of former right-wing Prime Minister Borisov, who still has great influence in the country.
Radev opposes sanctions against Russia and the supply of arms to Ukraine. Although he condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the organization of referendums in the occupied territories, he actively refused to support Ukraine’s membership in NATO, considering that process premature.
He is often criticized for his statements, which sound like a mere repetition of the Russian narrative about a “peaceful solution” to the conflict in Ukraine.
Should we not respect guests because of that? Of course not. If Aleksandar Vucic had come to visit, who treats us much worse than Radev treats Ukraine, they would have rolled out a red carpet for him and many people would have flickered around him as if King Aleksandar the “unifier” had come.
The visit of the Bulgarian president showed the shortcomings of the state protocol. It showed that the president still does not dare to walk around the capital.
If Spajic wanted to send a message to Radev with this gesture of a short delay, then it makes sense. On the other hand, the guest’s impatience is incomprehensible. If Putin was late, he certainly wouldn’t have been so impatient, but he probably thinks he can pick on the little Montenegro.
So, if it’s not all up to our leaders, there is a bit of micro-imperialism in Bulgarian behaviour. If we look at how Radev treats Macedonia, and how Bulgaria generally treats our former countrymen, there is not much difference with how Serbia treats us.
If nothing else, I am glad that we blew Radev off for the sake of Ukraine and Macedonia.
Joking aside, when a country takes upon itself the obligation to welcome someone, then state protocol should seriously address the preparations for the visit. This gives the impression of frivolity and carelessness. If we are frivolous and careless in protocol, it can be a sign that we are frivolous and careless in more serious state affairs.
In the last four years, Montenegro has given birth to a whole generation of young leaders. Those young leaders will lead our politics as a government or as an opposition in the next few decades. The seriousness of state policy also depends on how quickly it matures and becomes serious.
We don’t have the luxury of growing up together with the elite again. If we grow up together, we risk growing together again.
That’s it for today and this week. See you again on Monday.
Kind regards,
Ljubomir Filipovic, CdM analyst and columnist
(The opinions and views of the authors of the columns are not necessarily those of the CdM editorial staff)
