Press release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration regarding a proposal to hold a control hearing of Minister Igor Lukšić

No secret or any other unlawful agreements have been concluded with Croatia’s leadership or a third party about ceding the rights to concessionary exploration of oil and gas in the Prevlaka region, as has been claimed in the explanation of the proposal to hold a control hearing of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Igor Lukšić, which has been submitted by members of the Parliamentary Committee on International Relations, MPs Koča Pavlović, Milan Knežević, Goran Danilović, Dritan Abazović, and Danko Šarančić. All communication in relation to the Prevlaka issue is taking place in accordance with the negotiation platform that has been adopted by the commission for border demarcation between Montenegro and the Republic of Croatia.

Deputy Prime Minister Lukšić will answer the call of the Committee on International Relations in accordance with the prescribed procedure, unless the reason behind the call is to make political points in the wake of the elections and to abuse this important topic to that end.

We reiterate that it was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration who issued an official complaint on the recently published Croatian maps presented in Zagreb together with concession documents for a public tender for exploration and use of hydrocarbons in the Adriatic, which have been offered to prospective concessionaires.

In this complaint Montenegro pointed to the 2002 Protocol on the Interim Regime, which requires the two neighbouring states to refrain from unilateral acts which would aim to predetermine the settlement of the border at sea and land, and reminded the Croatian side that this Protocol, established with high mediation and guarantees of the United Nations, remains in force until a definite settlement of the issue of state border between Montenegro and the Republic of Croatia is reached.

Montenegro is determined to continue the dialogue with the Republic of Croatia on this issue, to cherish and improve friendly relations with its neighbours, and to solve all bilateral issues in the spirit of openness and cooperation and good neighbourly relations.