Official Zagreb sent a non-paper (informal diplomatic document) to Montenegro a fortnight ago, in which it made demands for the resolution of several issues it considers open and which it claims damage the mutual relations of the two countries, "Vijesti" has learned unofficially.
According to newspaper information from the Government and diplomatic sources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Montenegro received a document with ten points, in which, among other things, it was stated that it is necessary to resolve the issues of ownership of the training ship "Jadran", mutual demarcation, processing of war crimes, finding missing persons, as well as the issue of the name of the city swimming pool in Kotor.
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" from the executive branch claims that Croatia announced in a non-paper that it supports Podgorica's path to the European Union (EU) and that it insists on "good neighborly relations". Montenegro, he says, responded to each request individually, said it wanted to talk by offering consultations, and said it appreciated Zagreb's support.
The newspaper's source from diplomatic circles claims that it is the MFA, which it heads Ervin Ibrahimovic (Bosniak Party), responded this week, also in the form of a non-paper, and adds that, according to his assessment, the goal of the document sent to Croatia is to create space so that it can be said that something is being done to resolve disputed issues.
He states that, among other things, Montenegro proposed the formation of a working group in order to continue discussions on delimitation, and that when asked about the name of the swimming pool in Kotor, it responded with the words that it was the decision of the local government there, that there had recently been elections in that municipality. , that a new self-government was not formed...
Special adviser to the Croatian Foreign Minister, Vanda Babić Galić, told "Vijesta" yesterday that she could neither confirm nor deny the newspaper's inquiries about non-paper. "Vijesti" asked her if Zagreb sent Podgorica that informal document, if so - what the demands in it refer to, and whether the closing of four chapters in Montenegro's negotiations with the EU by the end of the year depends on their fulfillment.
The "cooling" of relations with Zagreb began in the winter, after the Croatian Minister of Defense Ivan Anusic canceled the meeting with his Montenegrin colleague during his visit to Montenegro Dragan Krapović (Democrats) because, as he explained, of Krapović's views on the ship "Jadran" and the memorial plaque at the former Morinj camp in Kotor. Krapović previously stated that Croatia has no right to claim "Jadran" and that the plaque in Morinje should be replaced by another one, "with adequate text". The plaque, discovered two years ago, mentions the "Greater Serbian aggression against Croatia" and reads: "We remember the crimes committed to disgrace the name and spirit of Montenegro. We express our regret for all the suffering endured by the detainees. May it never happen again ".
An additional tightening of relations followed at the end of June, when the Montenegrin parliament adopted the Resolution on the genocide in Jasenovac and the Dachau and Mauthausen camps.
That document was voted on the initiative of part of the ruling majority, after the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica at the end of May. This was done with the support of Montenegro, which was opposed by the parties of the former Democratic Front (DF), which therefore demanded that the Montenegrin Assembly be determined by a resolution on Jasenovac.
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Croatia reacted violently to the adoption of that document, saying that it regrets that Montenegro decided to ignore the calls of their country "not to politicize the victims of Jasenovac". Zagreb then announced that Podgorica must meet the final benchmarks in order to close the negotiation chapter 23 (judiciary and fundamental rights), and that they will "jump in" with their benchmarks.
"Montenegro must show progress and results related to the prosecution of war crimes, including determining responsibility at high levels, solving cases of missing persons, as well as the issue of compensation for victims, and the protection of national minorities and their rights," the Ministry said, among other things of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia.
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After that, in July, Zagreb declared the head of the parliament undesirable Andrija Mandić (New Serbian Democracy), Deputy Prime Minister Aleks Bečić (Democrats) and deputies Milan Knežević (Democratic People's Party) due to "systematic action to disrupt good neighborly relations with the Republic of Croatia and continuous abuse of the Republic of Croatia for internal political purposes", thus alluding to the decision to adopt the resolution in Jasenovac.
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Zagreb's non-paper arrived to meet a potential "green light" from the EU to Montenegro to close four chapters in negotiations with that community by the end of the year, which Croatia could stop in the Union's bodies. Podgorica has been negotiating with the EU since June 2012, and since then it has opened all chapters (33 in total) and temporarily closed three.
"Vijesti" learned unofficially that the officials are from Brussels, where the President of Montenegro is Jakov Milatovic is on a working visit, mentioned Croatia to the head of state at meetings and said that the "good neighborly policy" is important for the continuation of negotiations with the EU. A source familiar with the content of Milatović's conversations assessed that those messages show that in Brussels "there is a fear" of Zagreb's potential reaction to the chapters that Montenegro could "cross out".
However, an interlocutor from diplomatic circles says that his impression is that Croatia will not block Podgorica.
The government expects Montenegro to close chapters 7 (intellectual property rights), 10 (information society and media), 20 (entrepreneurship and industrial policy) and 31 (foreign, security and defense policy).
When asked if they are afraid of Croatia, the main negotiator with the EU Predrag Zenović he said the night before yesterday in the program "Reflektor" on "Vijesti" Television: "I wouldn't use that word. We have had good relations with Croatia for years. They have been visibly damaged in recent months, we need to work on that and I think dialogue is a way to we will come to an answer. There must be an intensive dialogue between Podgorica and Zagreb. I am sure that the MFA and the Prime Minister's office have their own approach to solving this problem."
Asked whether Croatia would approve the closing of the chapter, Zenović replied that he thought that Montenegro "met all the conditions to receive the support of all member states for the four chapters", and that he believed that Croatia would "respect" that.
"But I understand that it is very important that we open an honest and constructive dialogue with Zagreb as soon as possible," he added.
The procedure for closing the four chapters entered the phase of consideration by working groups in the Council of the EU. As explained by the Government earlier, the process is initially in the hands of the Working Group for Enlargement and Accession Negotiations (COELA), and after it completes its work, its proposal to determine the so-called common positions will be forwarded to the Committee of Permanent Representatives of Member States (COREPER). The final decision is made by the Council of the EU, in which the unanimous support of all members is required for the chapters to be closed.
What are the reasons for the dispute
Croatia has repeatedly called for the old sailing ship "Jadran" to return to Split, where it was based most of the time during the former SFRY. "Jadran", before the outbreak of war conflicts in SFRY and the international recognition of Croatia's independence, sailed from Split in 1991 for a previously planned overhaul in Tivat, where it remained.
The Montenegrin authorities claim that the ship does not belong to Croatia, referring to the Agreement on the Succession of the SFRY. "Jadran" is a warship that is used for civilian purposes and the territorial principle from that agreement applies to it - that the property of the SFRY passes to the successor state in whose territory it was located when it declared independence.
When it comes to demarcation, the issue of the border on Prevlaca has not been resolved for decades. That peninsula is located at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor. After the war conflicts of the twenties, Prevlaka was taken over by United Nations observers until 2002, when the Protocol on the Temporary Border Regime was established.
According to that document, Croatia has the land part of the peninsula and the sea belt of the entrance to Boka Kotor of 550 meters, while the part of the water area along the left coast of the peninsula has been declared "no man's sea". That status is still valid.
As for the issue of war crimes, Croatia said that it expects responsibility to be established for the crimes committed by Montenegrin citizens during the aggression against that country in the 1s. This, as they said this summer, especially includes those committed during the attack on Dubrovnik that began on October 1991, 1992 and the siege of the city that lasted until May 350, as well as crimes against Croatian citizens in Montenegro, including the "Morinj" camp. in which more than 1991 Croatian citizens were detained from September 1992 to August XNUMX, and the issue of fair compensation for all former inmates.
The reason for the dispute about the issue of the swimming pool in Kotor is that in August 2021, the local parliament decided to name the pool after Zoran Đžimij Gopčević, who they said is one of the best water polo players from this area. Croatia condemned it, claiming that Gopčević was a guard in the "Morinj" camp.
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