MFA: Russia interferes in the internal affairs of Montenegro in an unacceptable manner

"The law as a whole is harmonized with the opinion of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, and all religious communities and all their representatives in Montenegro agreed with it except the SPC"
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From the protest against the adoption of the Law on Freedom of Religion, Photo: Boris Pejović
From the protest against the adoption of the Law on Freedom of Religion, Photo: Boris Pejović
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Russia interferes in the internal affairs of Montenegro in an unacceptable way, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

The MFA responded to according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia that in Montenegro the pressure on the Serbian Orthodox Church is increasing, in order to completely oust it.

"The comment of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation regarding the Law on Freedom of Religion and Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Communities once again, after a certain lull, unfortunately confirms the continuity of unacceptable, difficult to understand and flagrant interference of Russia in the internal affairs of a sovereign, secular, European states, NATO members and candidates for EU membership," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

As they state, everything is happening "only because Montenegro, as an independent and sovereign country, passed a legal act".

"For abolishing a 50-year-old ideological law and replacing it with a law that is in accordance with all known international standards that regulate this area. The law as a whole is in accordance with the opinion of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, and all religious communities and all their representatives in Montenegro except the SPC. Contrary to the statements of the Russian MID, the adopted law in Montenegro regulates all issues in this area in a democratic manner, including the issue of ownership of religious buildings, which does not threaten anyone's right to use them."

The MFA points out that they hoped "certain lessons were learned from the events of October 2016".

"And that the relations between Montenegro and Russia cautiously and step by step took a more normal course. Comments of the Russian MID like the one in question seriously threaten this trend," the report concludes.

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