With the victory of Milatovic, there is no Serbian world, we have not and will not withdraw the recognition of Kosovo, and nothing will change with the defeat of Djukanovic. Montenegro was the private state of Djukanovic, his political departure ends the cycle of politics of the nineties, we are entering a new political and legal era in Montenegro, says Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic in an interview. Abazovic talked about the hand of justice that worked and whether it goes to Djukanovic. Will there be justice or revenge for the defeated? About Milatovic’s messages to the region, Srebrenica, January 9th, Dodik’s secession, Bosnia ad Herzegovina (BiH), the Open Balkan, and the European path.
“The policy cycle of the 1990s in Montenegro is coming to an end, and somehow this both symbolically and essentially means that we are going to end the policy that has been so current both in the Balkans and in Montenegro. I believe that this is a good message for the citizens of the region as well. The way they accepted both defeat and victory and winners and losers shows that some other winds are blowing in these areas and I believe that this will mean a faster movement towards the European Union (EU) as far as Montenegro is concerned,” Abazovic stated.
Montenegro has the ambition to be part of the European world
When it comes to the Serbian world, he says that the new Montenegro has the ambition to be part of the European world.
“We are not interested in any Serbian world. And we have never been interested in it. Neither we who are in power now nor the people who are the vast majority in Montenegro. We are interested in the European world. Everything else is the subject of some propaganda.”
Montenegro and BiH have the best possible relations
Regarding the relations between BiH and Montenegro, he emphasizes that they have the best possible relations.
“I think that Mr. Milatovic was clear about the issue of Srebrenica, and I think that a small number of people who may have supported him have some dilemma regarding that issue. As far as he is concerned, I believe that he does not have that dilemma, and as far as official Montenegro is concerned, it does not even think about it. So, there was genocide in Srebrenica and that is such a fact that there is no need for any broader interpretation of it, for anyone to justify it. I am sure that it will remain so when it comes to the official communication of officials in Montenegro. And what do people think individually, some people who I claim are really in a huge minority, probably until the Balkan conditions are like this and until we all get rid of those policies of the past, you will always find some people who will probably want to deny such a fact, deliberately or not.”
I think Dayton has expired
Abazovic points out that BiH is an old European country and that the adversities characteristic of the last historical period, the last decade or two, are not something that can disrupt what has been its statehood since time immemorial.
“Personally, I think that Dayton has expired and that a new time calls for a new Constitution that will define what the country will look like, how it will organize itself, and make the system functional. This is something that I would like to see in a friendly and brotherly manner in BiH. Is it possible to achieve this with these political elites – no. It is your internal matter, and we wish you all the best, but in my humble opinion, if it continues, it will only burden the citizens. I believe that maybe some new generations, I don’t mean younger people but people who have less infection from what were the events of the war, will contribute to injecting some new spirit in a political sense, in a positive sense, and that it will lead to the necessary changes.”
He says that he is sorry that in BiH what was current in 2004 is still current in 2023.
“Similarly, perhaps in a different format. It was the same with Montenegro until 2020. I think something needs to change. I think that Dodik’s aspirations for secession would absolutely not get support in Montenegro. I absolutely don’t think it would.”
