Consultations of Government representatives with the President of the State Jakov Milatović regarding the appointment of the missing ambassadors, should be held on Thursday, "Vijesti" learned.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said yesterday that the ambassadors will be appointed very soon and that, on that occasion, consultations with the president of the country will also be held, which was not the case before.
"We will have quality solutions. We hope to fill the ambassadorial positions", Spajić said at the press conference in Villa "Gorica", where he met with the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien.
He added that previously many other things were proposed unilaterally.
"I think we are adopting new rules where we will present those solutions. Before that, people came to press conferences with ready-made solutions. That won't happen again. we will follow the procedures. I hope that we will fill all the ambassadorial positions that are important now. There are key positions that need to be filled as soon as possible in order to strengthen our efforts on the European path, and I am convinced that the president will fully understand that," Spajić said.
"Vijesti" recently announced that talks have begun between the parties in power about filling the diplomatic network from the political quota. Politically, 12 diplomats will be appointed, of which the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) and the Democratic People's Party (DNP) will propose four. The two parties agreed that the seats in Beijing, Athens and Belgrade would belong to the NSD, and the DNP in Moscow.
The Europe Movement will now propose, among other things, an ambassador to the USA, and the Democrats to Slovenia. Two Albanian coalitions are reportedly interested in positions in Pristina and Tirana.
"Vijesti" has learned that it is planned that Milatović will get acquainted with the proposed list of candidates for ambassador on Thursday, but that the consultations will not end then. "It's just the beginning of the process," said a source familiar with the planned consultations.
Another source said that on Thursday, in addition to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Filip Ivanovic, Prime Minister Spajić will participate in the consultations with the head of state, as well as probably other people, but that "the final format has not been determined".
Milatović said on December 11 that Spajić's government is ignoring his initiative to hold consultations to fill positions in the diplomatic network.
He then emphasized that Montenegro does not have ambassadors at many important international addresses and that this is a very important and urgent issue that must be jointly opened and agreed upon. He also reminded that the Government proposes ambassadors, after which opinions are given by the competent committee of the Assembly and the President of the State.
"It is an important issue that we need to agree on. An invitation to the Government and all actors in that process to come to the foreign policy consultations to which they were duly invited by the President of the State", said Milatović at the time, appealing to the Government to show seriousness and responsibility in relation to this issue.
Milatović's office told "Vijesta" in early December that it is very important that consultations take place due to the creation of a strategy regarding Montenegro's election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council from 2026, "which would be the crowning glory of the country's diplomatic representation."
According to data provided to "Vijesta" in August last year, Montenegro has ambassadors at only 11 addresses in the world, while chargé d'affaires represent it in 22 countries, twice as many.
According to these data, Montenegro had ambassadors in only seven countries - Belgium, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Russia, Turkey and France, and in four missions to the EU, UN and other international organizations (Geneva), OSCE and the Council of Europe. In the meantime, the ambassador from North Macedonia was withdrawn.
When it comes to chargé d'affaires, they represent Montenegro in some of the most important global political and financial centers, such as Washington, Beijing, London, Berlin and Abu Dhabi, and they are also found in almost the entire environment - Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo and Slovenia.
While he is the new ambassador of Serbia in Montenegro Nebojsa Rodic officially took office on February 2, after the handover of credentials to the Montenegrin president, the diplomatic mission of Montenegro in Belgrade continues to function through the chargé d'affaires Predrag Mitrović.
At the plenipotentiary level, the country is also represented in Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Spain, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Argentina, the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta, and the Permanent Mission to the UN (New York).
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