The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, said today that she is "perfectly clear" about Podgorica's message that Serbian citizens are unwelcome in Montenegro. She told B92 television that Montenegro's decision to open its borders to citizens of several countries, but not Serbia, is wrong and that it represents "a classic case when politics obscures economic interest and what is good for your economy and citizens."
"That decision of theirs was driven by political motives, and as far as messages from Prime Minister Marković that I could call him in order to clarify that decision, there is nothing for anyone to explain it to me, everything is perfectly clear to me," said the President of the Government of Serbia.
She also stated that she believes that Podgorica will change that decision under the pressure of the tourism sector.
"I believe that there will be a lot of pressure from hoteliers because tourism is the biggest part of their economy and that is why our citizens are very good tourists. At some point they will give in to the pressure and I believe that they will then invite us to come to Montenegro. I urge citizens not to go where they are unwelcome, but wherever they go, the Government of Serbia will be open to cooperation," said the Prime Minister.
She reiterated that Serbia respects Montenegro as a neighboring country and that it advocates for regional stability and better connectivity in order to improve the quality of life of the citizens of the entire region.
"I don't understand some colleagues in the region that they don't understand that we as a region can progress and raise the quality of life of the citizens of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro only if we work together, if the region is peaceful, stable, better connected," said the Prime Minister.
She stated that she does not want to interfere in the internal affairs of Montenegro, but also added that it is her constitutional obligation as prime minister and the obligation of Serbia as a state to take care of the Serbs in Montenegro, to protect their rights.
"That's what every serious country does. I'm for the best possible relations with Montenegro, I'm sorry that they have recently chosen a different path, that in the 21st century they are dealing with establishing a church instead of digitization, that you want to go towards the EU, and you confiscate someone's property. That is far from how I think," said Ana Brnabić.
She assessed that "we won't get anything" with reciprocity and that it is senseless to close Serbia's borders to the 28 percent of Serbs living in Montenegro.
"We don't want to participate in those games of the past, but we are focused on the future. I invite the citizens of Montenegro to come to Serbia, we are an open country, we want people to come here, that is our policy and it will not change because someone else's policy is completely different ", said the Prime Minister.
Asked about Croatia's decision not to open its borders to citizens of Serbia, she said that Zagreb made that decision only for EU members and that she assumed that they "don't count too much on tourists from Serbia".
"I am thinking more about how to best present all the beauties of our country to our citizens, who often know foreign countries better than our tourist destinations. I invite our citizens to stay in Serbia during the summer and rely on the beauty and services in their own country, because it is in terms of health security the safest way, and with that you are directly helping the domestic economy in a really difficult year," said Ana Brnabić.
Commenting on the lack of EU reaction to Podgorica's decision, she said that full membership in the Union remains Serbia's strategic path, but added that sometimes the lack of reaction is a reaction.
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