Former Head of Diplomacy Branko Lukovac assessed that it would be best if the governments of Montenegro and Croatia reached an agreement on the final delimitation of the Prevlaka region that would result from the Interim Agreement, but that this is not realistic because it would entail concessions from both sides that neither government is ready to accept. take responsibility.
It was recently announced from the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Croatia sent Montenegro a non-binding proposal for a special agreement by which the states would jointly address the International Court of Justice to determine the borders and that they are still waiting for Montenegro's response, and the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently announced that they had sent a response.
"The compromises of both sides, which were made to reach at least a temporary solution, were also the cause of harsh criticism in both countries, even more so in the political and professional circles of Croatia than in Montenegro. That is why it is most realistic to leave that decision to the International to the court of justice, which subsequently needs to prepare exhaustive and convincing documentation and arguments for the positions, proposals and demands of Montenegro," said Lukovac for "Vijesti".
He added that the agreement on a joint appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, signed by Milo Đukanović and Ivo Sanader in 2008, was an expression of the realistic assessment of both parties that it is very difficult to reach a compromise final solution due to the distant and firm positions of both parties in relation to key border issues both on land and at sea. "It is now clear that the efforts to reach a compromise solution bilaterally have not yielded results. Research projects and possible exploitation of oil and gas in the sea necessitate the need to speed up the resolution of the demarcation issue," said Lukovac. He says that, however, time is not wasted
"A chance was given to the Interim Agreement on Delimitation. Even after 12 years, it proved to be good for both parties, it did not create any problems, incidents, and thus, objectively, it becomes an important circumstance that the International Court of Justice will have to take into consideration in the search for definitive solution", believes Lukovac. He believes that the Government, before sending an answer to Croatia, will do what was hinted by the MVPEI of Montenegro, which is the intention to first send the proposed text of the Agreement to the competent committee of the Assembly, considering the expressed doubts and criticism from certain leaders of the opposition, i.e. MPs. I think this is the reason why the answer to the proposal of the Special Agreement has not yet been sent to the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia," concluded Lukovac.
Podgorica and Zagreb must give the court a clear mandate of what they are looking for
Lukovac believes that the text of the Special Agreement for a joint appeal to the court in The Hague has been agreed upon and that it is the text that the Croatian side submitted to MVPEI.
"In order for the court to start determining the border, it must receive an agreed request from the two parties, with a clear mandate regarding the area for which an assessment and decision is requested. The interim agreement regulates the temporary border settlement and does not prejudge the final border settlement either on land or at sea - the two sides should agree that the court should determine the borders both on land and at sea," he said.
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