Milatovic: Focus to be Shifted to Topics Bringing Serbia, Montenegro Closer

Jakov Milatovic ,Belgrade, July 10 2023 (BETAPHOTO/AMIR HAMZAGIC)

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic said in Belgrade, on July 10, that Serbia and Montenegro should “focus their actions” on the topics bringing the two countries together, whereas a “more meaningful approach” is needed when discussing those dividing them.

President Milatovic said to reporters after a meeting with his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, that Serbia was his country’s most important trade partner and largest investor, and that Serbian nationals were the biggest group among the tourists visiting Montenegro, but that it’s also necessary to advance diplomatic ties. Milatovic underlined that the two states did not have joint border crossings and that the existing payment traffic was “a serious barrier,” while the two governments had never sit together.

The president said that history and traditionally close ties brought Serbia and Montenegro together, just like their accession to the European Union (EU), and that stronger diplomatic ties would help resolve other problems as well. The two states shared a common goal to join the EU, the president stated, adding that he believed that the accession to the Union had no alternative, but he also welcomed all economic initiatives launched by the Western Balkans.

Efforts to de-escalate tensions in Kosovo top the list of priorities in Montenegro. “It is very important to keep in control the tensions in the north of Kosovo, and to de-escalate the situation. It’s a priority not only for Kosovo and Serbia, but for Montenegro, too,” the Montenegrin president said, adding that Vucic had done a lot to support the de-escalation efforts, but, as he put it, “it takes two to tango.”