Statement of the MFA

European path and good neighborhood policy are, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed many times, national interests of Montenegro which go beyond all party and personal attitudes. For those values, and for the sake of our citizens which in high percentage want to live in the country which will become a member of the European Union, which respects its neighbors and continuously builds excellent relations, we are obliged to do everything in our power as a society, to combine the influence of every institution and individual for the sake of achieving our foreign political goals.

To shake the international reputation of our country, regardless of motives, sadly – is something completely different from that. Whatever internal circumstances or someone’s political preferences may be, it is the opposite of the deep belief which resides in the work of every diplomat.

Good bilateral relations are built diligently, and one of the mechanisms are visits on the highest level. Such, first visit to the Republic of North Macedonia, should have happened starting Wednesday, January 26^th, as it was announced on time by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Invitation to his Montenegrin colleague was sent by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of that country Bujar Osmani, and during his visit, Minister Radulović was to meet with highest officials of that country, President Stevo Pendarovski, Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Maričić, and President of Sobranje Talat Xhaferi.

Although the platform proposal passed the Commission for the Political System and the Commission for the Economic Policy, as well as the fact that platforms for official visits were adopted afterwards or after official’s return on many occasions, this time, the Government did not adopt it, as the public already knows.

This news found Minister Radulović and the delegation of MFA after their arrival in Skopje. Because of that, they had return back to Montenegro with apologies to the representatives of the country with which the diplomatic visit on the high level was agreed.

At a time when everything we are witnessing is happening in domestic politics, we deeply believe that this conflict and eventual topic of vanity should never cross our borders and what is the national interest of Montenegro. These are certainly the international reputation of the country, excellent bilateral relations between Montenegro and North Macedonia which are characterized by a good political dialogue, friendship, and continuous international support.

During this visit, Minister of Foreign Affairs was to realize an already agreed interview for the “New Macedonia” Daily Paper and participate at the press conference with his colleague Osmani. Sadly, instead of this, media in North Macedonia assessed the situation as a diplomatic scandal.

Visit to Skopje was also an opportunity for Minister Radulović to talk with representatives of Montenegrin diaspora about ways in which mother country can contribute to achieving their plans and activities, in order to secure the preservation of Montenegrin national and cultural identity.

All of this, stands in the official announcement of the visit that was published on MFA’s official web site, by the media and Government’s internet page. Previously, Platform proposal was also present on Government’s internet page since Monday morning, which is why we cannot talk of someone lacking information.

As protocol requires, the country of the reception and the country of transit is always informed of the delegation’s route. That way, on the surprise of everyone who witnessed, and then most certainly informed their authorities, Montenegrin delegation returned after only a few hours.

Also, it should be pointed out that this is not the first time for a state visit to be cancelled in the final moment, if for example, the government of the country of reception topples or vice-versa.

This is still, truly the first time that Government exists, and on its normally held session, Proposal of the platform whose adoption is formality in practice, gets rejected by the Government which the MFA is a part of, although it passed two Government’s commissions.

Once again, it is necessary to pint out that as long as the Government exists, Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a part of it, and national interests remain what they are. In this place it is necessary to point out that, regardless of political turbulences at home, Montenegro is an internationally recognized state which in the international habitat coexists with other countries and her diplomacy must live. This means that, regardless of everything, we must work and lead our foreign policy. Everything that carries a sign of personal should never have its place here.