Proposal of the Minister of Defense Dragan Krapović that the Council for Defense and Security dismisses the Brigadier General Zoran Lazarevic from the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Army of Montenegro (VCG) and appointed a colonel instead Miodrag Vuksanović, did not pass at yesterday's Council session, because the head of state and chairman of the supreme command was the only one who opposed it Jakov Milatovic - derives from the announcement of the Ministry of Defense and the knowledge of "Vijesti" from the participants of the session.
The other two members of the Council, the Prime Minister Milojko Spajic and head of parliament Andrija Mandic, supported Krapović's proposal, but there was no discussion about Colonel Vuksanović, because Milatović refused the minister's request to dismiss General Lazarević, asking for "additional explanation", three participants of the session told "Vijesta".
According to the Rules of Procedure, the three-member Council makes all decisions unanimously. The previous session was held at the beginning of February, and numerous attempts to hold it failed because the members could not agree on the dates, with Milatović and Spajić accusing each other of obstructing the scheduling process.
The Minister's proposal on the dismissal of Lazarevic and the appointment of Vuksanovic was delivered to the members of the Council yesterday morning, and was considered under the item "miscellaneous". One participant in the session said that Krapović "informed" Lazarevic "a long time ago" of his intention to dismiss him, and another said that they had that conversation on Monday.
One participant of the session said that Milatović, at the beginning of the discussion on that point, suggested that Lazarević leave the room, because he was being discussed, which Krapović allegedly objected to.
In a statement, the minister stated that the decision to dismiss Lazarevic was a consequence of his "estimation that the Army needs a generational change and rejuvenation of the officer cadre", and the fact that the general "met the conditions for termination of service in the Army, which are prescribed by the Law on VCG".
According to the participants of the session, Spajić said that he respects the work of Lazarevic and that he should remain in the defense system in a position that corresponds to his qualities and experience, but that the Government acts as a unit and respects the decisions of all its ministers, including Krapovic's.
The head of the parliament allegedly said that he has nothing against Lazarevic, but that he supports Krapovic's decision. One participant told "Vijesti" that Mandic said that he was bound by the "coalition agreement on the formation of the Government", while another said that "he did not hear that".
"Vijesti" learned from the participants of the session that there were also raised tones between Milatović and Krapović.
They claim that Krapović told Milatović that the president had long ago asked him in a conversation to rejuvenate the management staff in the VCG, and that "here he starts with the Chief of the General Staff". Milatović allegedly denied it, saying that it was a "she-said-she-said" story.
Milatović allegedly said at the end that he would sign the decision on the dismissal of Lazarevic when he received an additional explanation and when he was told what Lazarevic did not do properly or what he did badly.
One participant said that after the discussion with Milatović, Krapović got up and left the session, while another said that the session was already over by then.
It is not clear whether the session ended with any conclusion regarding the issue of the head of the VCG, nor what the next steps will be. "I don't know what to tell you," said one of the participants of the session.
In a statement, Krapović indicated that he did not agree with his predecessor's decision last year Filip Adžić, to extend by two years the duration of Lazarevic's service in the Army, which, according to the information of "Vijesti", expires on June 8, 2025.
"It is an indisputable fact that Lazarevic, according to Adžić's approval, is still serving in the Army, and after meeting the conditions for termination of service prescribed by the Law on the Republic of Croatia, which stipulates that a professional military person's service in the Army is terminated by fulfilling the conditions from Article 203 of this law," said in Krapović's statement.
According to the interpretation of one "Vijesti" source, Krapović has the right to change Adžić's decision, while another interlocutor claims that for Lazarević to retire, he should first be dismissed by the Council.
Krapović explained that he made a public statement because there was no information about his proposal and MIlatović's refusal in the Council's official announcement.
"It is necessary for the citizens to be familiar with the way and results of our work, as well as the decisions of all politicians, because in the end, only the citizens can adequately evaluate our work, and I believe that they will certainly do so," Krapović said.
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After the Council session, it was announced that the lack of a training and shooting range is one of the pressing problems of the VCG.
As it was said, the members of the Council were informed about the possibility of engaging the members of the Croatian Armed Forces as part of the European Union (EU) Military Assistance Mission to Support Ukraine (EUMAM), through bilateral engagement with Slovenia.
"Where it is specifically emphasized that all activities within the mentioned mission will be carried out on the territory of one of the EU countries and that not a single member of the VCG will enter the territory of Ukraine. The established proposal for a decision on the engagement of members of the VCG in the mentioned mission will be submitted by the Council to the Assembly for consideration and decision-making", it was ordered.
Lazarevic was appointed Chief of the General Staff in June 2022. He graduated from the Army Academy in Belgrade and Zadar in 1990, majoring in artillery. He completed command and staff training as well as general staff training in Belgrade in 2002 and 2009, according to his biography. He served in Serbia, and since 1996 in Montenegro.
After the formation of the VCG, he was appointed deputy commander of the Special Operations Brigade, and since 2010 he has been the deputy chief of the General Staff.
From May 2016, he continued his career in the Military Representation of Montenegro to NATO and the EU, where he held the positions of deputy military representative of Montenegro to NATO and the EU and as an adviser to the military representative.
Colonel Miodrag Vuksanović is currently the national representative of Montenegro at the NATO headquarters in Mons at the Allied Command for Operations (ACO). He graduated from the Military Academy in Belgrade, the Command and Staff School in the USA in 2011, and the School of National Defense in the USA in 2016. Among other things, he has always been the commander of the VCG Training Center in Danilovgrad and the head of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Department (J-2 ) in the General Staff of the VCG.
He is an electronics engineer by specialty, in the Yugoslav Army he was in units for electronic reconnaissance and counter-electronic operations.
Vukšić: It is now clear that a change to the Rules of Procedure is required
Milatović's advisor for security, Dejan Vukšić, announced last night that "times have passed when decisions crucial to the security system were made outside the Council".
"The Minister of Defense should have known this when, in fact, without discussion and valid explanation and documentation, he proposed the dismissal of the Chief of the General Staff," said Vukšić.
He said that the president of the state, in accordance with his constitutional powers, "will continue to prevent the collapse of institutions".
"Now it is much clearer why we do not have an ambassador to NATO and why a change of vote within the Council is being sought".
Mandić recently told "Vijesta" that he asked to change the rules of procedure, so that decisions would no longer be made unanimously, but by a simple majority. Spajić and Milatović said that they will make a statement about it when they receive a formal proposal from Mandić.
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