PM Marković in interview with Novi magazin: Montenegro can be leader in Western Balkans

Podgorica, Montenegro (8 August 2017) -- Prime Minister Duško Marković said in an interview with Belgrade - based Novi magazin (New Magazine) that the official visit of US Vice President Mike Pence, which is not only the most important political event that has ever taken place in Montenegro, but also exceeds the frameworks of one country, is a clear confirmation of the strong ties and strategic partnership between Montenegro and the United States of America, and it positions Montenegro in a new way on the international scene.

"Visit of Vice President Pence and the Adriatic Charter Summit are the most important political events held in Montenegro since restoring independence. The fact that the United States has decided to honour us with the arrival of such a high guest within two months of our membership in NATO is a clear confirmation of the strong ties and strategic partnerships of our two countries, as well as the logical sequence of Montenegro's civilisational choice - belonging to the Western system of values. Furthermore, as I said at the Summit, Mike Pence’s visit to Montenegro has a wider significance, which goes beyond the frames of a country. This testifies to the solidity and sustainability of the transatlantic link, as well as to Euro-Atlantic perspectives of the Western Balkans," said Prime Minister Marković.

In the interview, published today on five pages under the title "We Can Be Leader in Western Balkans," PM Marković said that last week's Summit of the Adriatic Charter, which was organised for the first time at the level of Heads of State and Government, sent a strong messages of unity over integration objectives and gave a new impetus to regional cooperation in the field of security and beyond.

"Presence of Vice President Pence at the summit was a signal that the new US administration is committed to the Euro-Atlantic perspective of the Western Balkan region, but at the same time to promoting regional cooperation in achieving this goal. After these events, Montenegro positioned itself on the international map in a new way. As Vice President Pence noted, Montenegro is the leading country in the region in terms of preserving peace and security in the Western Balkans. We have earned this position with committed and responsible work in the previous decade, and I believe that the US Vice President believes that it came as a result of the fact that we do not have outstanding issues with our neighbours and that we strongly promote dialogue as the only way to resolve disagreements," Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković stated.

Prime Minister responded to the question of journalists about the reasons for Montenegro’s entry into NATO, saying that throughout the history, law and justice often dwindled in collision with the pragmatism of politics and the logic of the interests of the great and powerful.

"In Montenegro, we must never forget what kind of terrible price we paid one century ago, when at the table of the Peace Conference in Paris, although both the Right and the Justice, the victims and the suffering, were on our side - both Montenegro and the Montenegrin country vanished. It took almost a century for the international community to recognise the right of Montenegro to independence. It took decades to generate a generation able to learn a historical lesson that without wisdom and patience independence cannot be restored! The generation who understood that the independence of a small country and an impenetrable nation was not given once and for all, that the long-term guarantee of independence is the country's equal place at the table where the great and the powerful reach decisions. We got the place, as the 29th member of the most powerful alliance of today: the North Atlantic Alliance. Never again will our fate be decided behind our backs. Once and for all we closed down this unfortunate page of our history. Therefore, it is clear that our membership in NATO is not directed against anyone, but is the result of our strategic assessment that in this way we permanently ensure the independence of our country. That is why I was motivated to consider Montenegro's accession to NATO a historically important event for my country," said Prime Minister Duško Marković in an interview with" Novi magazin.

PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE F THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO