MFA: We will not withdraw the decision to expel Božović, Varhelji failed to exchange basic information

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not retract its decision to declare the Serbian ambassador to Montenegro, Vladimir Božović, presona non grata, they announced.

As they said, they, as well as European Commissioner Oliver Varhelji, welcome the decision of the Government of the Republic of Serbia to abandon the expulsion of the Montenegrin ambassador to Serbia, because there was no reason for it.

"Ambassador Milošević represents his country respecting the Republic of Serbia, not interfering in its internal affairs, with restraint towards the host country even when Montenegro was grossly insulted and humiliated from various addresses in Serbia, Montenegrin state symbols were desecrated, and because of this, they reacted different international addresses," the statement said.

According to them, "unlike ours, the ambassador of Serbia in Montenegro continuously interfered in the internal affairs of the country in which he serves, with his interpretations of history calling into question its autonomy and independence, denying the Resolution of the Parliament of Montenegro on the illegitimate Podgorica Assembly, for which it is known what it represented in our history. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs drew his attention to this several times, with a warning that it was illegal and undiplomatic behavior towards the host country. Unfortunately, in vain and without understanding".

They said that because of this, "this Government and this Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not withdraw their decision."

They added that the statement of Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić is incomprehensible and that in fact he is saying that Ambassador Božović was actually conveying the official positions of the Serbian Government, which is a confirmation and continuation of gross interference in the internal affairs of Montenegro.

"Unfortunately, this time, Commissioner Varhelji failed to at least exchange basic information and opinions on the merits of the matter with his partners and friends in Montenegro, with whom he had many times discussed the more difficult and delicate issues of the region, before making his suggestion. he, especially as someone who comes from Hungary, a country that has a heightened sensitivity to issues of this nature, as a politician and official better understood our relationship towards the ambassador who continuously interferes in the internal affairs and hurts the national interests of the receiving country," the statement said. .

He claims that Montenegro is fully and truly committed to regional cooperation and good neighborly relations, "which is not only a pillar of European integration, as pointed out by Commissioner Varhelji, but a key element of our foreign policy that we have been promoting for years in all bilateral and multilateral frameworks, which is very well known to our European partners".

"Therefore, we are firmly convinced of the correctness of our decision, given that we cannot tolerate the humiliation of Montenegrin state and national dignity by diplomatic representatives in our country," the MFA statement concluded.