Montenegrin PM: U.S. and EU See My Government as Solution to Negative Influences in Balkans

Dritan Abazovic (BETAPHOTO/VLADA CRNE GORE/Rade Koprivica/MO)

Dritan Abazovic, the recently appointed prime minister of Montenegro, said on May 10 that the U.S. and European Union view his minority government as a means of halting negative influences in the Balkans.

In an exclusive evening interview for Pristina’s Klan Kosova TV, Abazovic expressed his satisfaction with the support he has received from various international institutions – which, he said, came as a pleasant surprise. “They saw the new [cabinet] as a solution and their support absolutely must be put to good use,” the prime minister said.

Abazovic added that, during his last official visit to the United States – as deputy prime minister of the previous government – he was warned something would occur between Ukraine and Russia. The warning provided Montenegro with the chance to align with the West and put a stop to any potential Russian influences in the country.

According to him, various pro-Russian and pro-Serbian structures had the ear of the previous cabinet – a fact Abazovic said provided the main impetus in ensuring that the new government fully embodied European values. “This is a great challenge for me and the authorities, but I am certain Montenegro’s course will not change and [that] the time will come where over 80 percent of the people absolutely support a pro-Western policy,” the new prime minister concluded.