Montenegrin President: Interference in Formation of Cabinet Unacceptable

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

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic said on Aug. 20 that any attempt at direct or indirect interference by foreign actors, either from the region or the rest of the world, in the formation of Montenegro's new cabinet was unacceptable.

In a post on the X social media platform, formerly Twitter, he stressed that the 28th parliament was a reflection of the will of the citizens of Montenegro and that they were vested by the Constitution with sovereignty. "I expect the formation of the 44th cabinet to be based on the freely expressed will of citizens in parliamentary elections and a platform of priorities that will allow Montenegro's speedy membership in the EU, a rising standard of living and the building of a legal state," Milatovic said in response to comments by Serbia's top officials on the formation of Montenegro's government.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Aug. 18 that Serbs had no say in Montenegro. "We are always being reproached about Montenegro. Almost 30 percent [of Montenegro's inhabitants] are Serbs in Montenegro, maybe more. They are asking us to hold our tongues, but they are ready to grant ethnic Albanians in North Macedonia with their 24 percent whatever they want while the Serbs in Montenegro cannot get anything at 30 percent," Vucic told the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation.

Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said on Aug. 19 that Montenegro and North Macedonia had wronged Serbia by recognizing Kosovo's independence, stressing that this would boomerang on them like it had on Ukraine. On the other side, representatives of the international community, U.S. and Germany have reiterated that do not see the former members of the pro-Serb Democratic Front in the new government or as their partners.

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