The USA has noticed that there is a rise in tensions between Serbia and Montenegro, and their advertising may be a sign that they want to appear as peacemakers, but the silence of Brussels, which at this moment does not need another crisis in Europe, is surprising, according to "Vijesti" interlocutors.
The State Department called on all parties to exercise restraint and "avoid any actions that could lead to escalation of tension or violent action and to engage in constructive dialogue on this sensitive issue."
They announced this for the Voice of America when asked to comment on "growing tensions between Montenegro and Serbia due to the adoption of the Montenegrin Law on Freedom of Religion".
In December 2019, the Montenegrin Parliament adopted the Law on Freedom of Religion, and since then, protest rallies have been held in cities across Montenegro on Thursdays and Sundays, attended by thousands of citizens. The Government claims that the Law brings order in that area, while the Serbian Orthodox Church, part of the Montenegrin opposition and Serbian officials claim that this decision opens the way "for the seizure of the property of the SPC in Montenegro."
Cvijetin Milivojević, a political analyst from Belgrade, tells "Vijesti" that the American foreign policy has the ambition to return to the Western Balkans, and if they get involved in solving the problem with the Montenegrin Law on Freedom of Religion, it means that they expect their diplomatic victory. However, he states that the essential relations between Montenegro and Serbia are not strained, but that the two presidents are faking them for their own political interests.
The President of the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro, Milka Tadić Mijović, tells "Vijesti" that tensions have been raised even though they were artificially provoked from the same address, and that no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.
"It is important that citizens do not fall for manipulations as much as possible. We all know what the region has survived in the last 30 years and that they should ignore all those who call for conflicts and raising tensions", said Tadić Mijović.
Cvijetin Milivojević said that tensions between the state leadership of Montenegro and Serbia do not exist" although on the verbal level, for example in the Serbian Parliament, we can notice a partially intensified rhetoric of representatives of Vučić's Serbian Progressive Party".
"Obviously, they got a hint that they are now expressing some kind of criticism against the actions of Đukanović and his government," said Milivojević.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro, Srđan Darmanović, said recently that relations between the two countries are at their worst level since independence.
The Belgrade analyst, however, adds that they are playing "childish diplomacy". "Well, the ministers of foreign affairs of Montenegro and Serbia are taking measures of reciprocity by inviting some other secretaries of the embassies in Belgrade and Podgorica to talks, delivering demarches, which is tragicomic," he adds.
Milka Tadić Mijović tells "Vijesti" that at first everything seemed to her like a prepared scenario in the kitchen of Đukanović-Vučić, who are inseparably bound by their jobs and the way they run states - because they run them in the same authoritarian way.
"But it seems that they didn't count on one player, Metropolitan Amfilohi, who obviously doesn't play the way they play and who in a way took over the main role in the story and you can see that nervousness, especially with Đukanović, you can see that someone took over his show . It is clear that before the elections, neither Đukanović nor Vučić have anything to offer the voters except the story about the church - one protects one nation, and the other another, and both countries are collapsing, especially in the process of European integration, which has seriously stalled, especially in the case of Montenegro. , said Tadić Mijović.
The tensions between the two countries were discussed yesterday on the sidelines of a meeting in Berlin by Ministers of Interior Mevludin Nuhodžić and Nebojša Stefanović. As reported by the Montenegrin Ministry of the Interior, they agreed that Montenegro and Serbia have different positions on certain issues, but that it is necessary to discuss in order to find a solution in order to further improve the overall relations between the two countries.
Many violations of European norms were tolerated in Montenegro
Tadić Mijović said that it is interesting why Brussels is silent because everything that happens in the region is particularly important for the EU, because they do not need another crisis.
"I am afraid that Brussels and Washington playing on Đukanović and Vučić because of the supposed stability in the region was very wrong, because instead of asking these regimes to democratize society and make a truly democratic transition, Brussels really tolerated many violations of European norms, rules and behavior, in Montenegro and in Serbia we see what is happening", said Tadić Mijović.
She believes that it would be very important for Brussels to react because since the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, Brussels is one of the important players on the political scene of Montenegro.
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