The new government will remain committed to Montenegro's foreign policy priorities - membership in NATO and the path to the European Union, believes Branko Lukovac, a Montenegrin diplomat and former minister of foreign affairs.
He also says that Montenegro, regardless of the expulsion of the Serbian ambassador, can be an example of good neighborly relations in the region.
"As far as Serbia is concerned, I think it is about something that is a remnant of politics from the 90s, at least when it comes to Montenegro and the aspirations that were very active at that time, to achieve some Greater Serbian goals through that factor. I reckon that with the new government there will be a stage when these relations will be consolidated in some way, when these issues will be resolved and there will be a period of improvement and overcoming of the misunderstandings that exist now", Lukovac told TVCG tonight.
He interprets Serbia's decision not to expel the Montenegrin ambassador as a move to give the new Montenegrin government a chance.
"That's why they probably wanted to take the first positive step towards the new government in Montenegro, in order to discuss mutual relations with the new government. I believe that this could lead to a calming of tensions and a gradual overcoming of the crisis in relations", stated Lukovac and added that he was not surprised by the attitude of Commissioner Oliver Varhelji, RTCG Portal reports.
And the new EU Government and NATO priorities
Lukovac expects that the new Government will remain committed to the Agreement reached by the leaders of the three coalitions.
"In the Agreement, they clearly stated their commitment to foreign policy priorities, that is, membership in NATO and the EU, as well as the fulfillment of all other obligations from international agreements that Montenegro has. I don't think we have any hint that they could deviate from what was announced," said Lukovac.
He also says that some other government would have to remain committed to what are the foreign policy priorities of Montenegro, namely membership in NATO and the EU.
He also believes that we now have a large part of the population that is in favor of good regional cooperation and the path to the EU.
"I don't think they will represent or set any obstacles in cooperation with NATO and fulfilling the conditions on the way to the EU," said Lukovac.
According to him, the priority is to speed up reforms in Chapters 23 and 24.
"I think that this cooperative relationship will be continued in this regard as well because we heard that one of the main reasons for the standstill was precisely that the opposition did not even come to the Parliament", stated Lukovac and added that the most important thing for Montenegro is to fulfill the tasks on the way towards the EU.
"The new government will have a lot of work to accomplish the remaining tasks from the European agenda so that we can finish that process in the next few years and hope that we will be the first among the candidate countries to be admitted to the EU," said Lukovac.
He is counting on greater cooperation between the new government and the opposition.
"The remaining part is how to implement European standards in life. I reckon that we could finish our part of the work by 2025, and then we can only hope that such progress will be made in the EU that they will be able to follow the enlargement policy", concluded Lukovac.
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