Visit of the Croatian Foreign Minister Gordana Grlić Radman Montenegro, starting from the place where he met with his Montenegrin counterpart Ervin Ibrahimović, and the content of what was said and the guest's unspoken immoderate statements - creates an image of an inferior Montenegrin state, with dimensions of humiliation. The fact that Grlić Radman's messages were kept silent by the leaders of the Government raises questions about its character and integrity.
This was told to "Vijesti" by a diplomat and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro. Miodrag Lekić, answering the question: is the dignity of the state endangered by the fact that neither the Government nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MVP) reacted to the positions of the Croatian minister, who the day before yesterday, after meeting with Ibrahimović on the ship "Jadran" in Bar, reiterated that Zagreb considers that sailboat to be theirs.
He explained this by saying that the ship, which is currently undergoing annual maintenance in the port of Bar, was registered "in the home port of Split" and was sent to Montenegro for repairs, and that "it was never returned...".
"Just as I would be against the manifestation of arrogance or mythomaniacal, state-national apotheoses on the international level from the Montenegrin side, I am equally critical of this level of inferiority with serious consequences. This is now happening in sequels, opening the door for gaffes that remain unanswered. And it is not only in relation to the Croatian side...", Lekić assessed, commenting on the silence of the executive branch on Grlić Radman's statement.
Stating that it is difficult to believe that someone in the country wants to pursue "some kind of cannibalistic foreign policy, obviously to the detriment of Montenegro", the interlocutor notes that the Croatian minister's visit was a form of "diplomatic blitzkrieg", and that there are several aspects, many of which, he says, are problematic, to say the least.
"Even if someone were to emphasize that it was an act of goodwill on the Montenegrin side, such a visit by Minister Radman is certainly outside the known rules - both in diplomatic form and content," claims Lekić.
Ivanovic's Cabinet: Hostile Relations
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Filip Ivanovic He views Grlić Radman's visit, organized on the occasion of the celebration of the Day of the Croatian People, differently. He states that the meeting on the ship "Jadran", under the Montenegrin flag and in the presence of members of the Navy of the Army of Montenegro, is a gesture of "good hospitality towards a distinguished guest from Croatia."
"The fact that we have repeatedly expressed our willingness to discuss all potential issues openly and amicably, while respecting the strength of the arguments of both sides, is not interpreted as disrespect for the interests and dignity of Montenegro," it was announced to "Vijesti".
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the newspaper that the visit of the Croatian delegation was carried out "in accordance with the prescribed protocol for visits by delegations of other countries," and that the host was Ibrahimović.
"We believe that this is the best way to demonstrate the relationship towards the interests of the state," said the MVP.
The ministry said that, in addition to touring the ship, the foreign ministers of the two countries had a "substantive conversation, conducted in the spirit of good neighborly relations", and that after the meeting they expressed their positions regarding "further improvement of bilateral cooperation and resolving all issues that burden interstate relations".
"The public is aware that Montenegro and Croatia have different positions on certain issues, including the ship 'Jadran', but this is not a reason not to discuss these, as well as all other issues important for improving relations between the two countries," it was stated.
Ibrahimović and Grlić Radman announced that "Adriatic" and other open issues will be discussed at bilateral consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro and Croatia, which will begin on January 27, at the level of state secretaries.
"... Which is another confirmation of the commitment to dialogue, cooperation and improving relations," adds the MFA.

Lekić: They deserve a polite response
Miodrag Lekić says that, regardless of intentions, there are many concrete "inadequacies" in Grlić Radman's visit.
"First, the location of the meeting between the Croatian minister and his counterpart from the Montenegrin government - on the ship 'Jadran' - raises a somewhat surreal question: who, in fact, during this visit, especially on the ship, was the guest and who was the host, bearing in mind that the Croatian minister persistently publicly repeats that the ship is Croatian, without any denial from the Montenegrin government representative?"
He states that Grlić Radman's repeated statement that Prevlaka is Croatian territory has also been left without a public response or comment, "without a final diplomatic epilogue to this complex issue." He adds that the topic of the name of the Kotor swimming pool deserves a "polite and firm notification" to the Croatian side that it is a "decision that does not belong to Zagreb, but only to Kotor and Montenegro."
The Croatian foreign minister said that the issue of the land border is unquestionable for her, since it is “the result of the Badinter Commission’s decision,” and that the issue of maritime demarcation remains a topic that will be discussed bilaterally. He noted that other open issues, such as compensation for camp inmates and “restoring the Kotor swimming pool to its original name,” will be discussed in two weeks.
Lekić said that in the context of Grlić Radman's messages, the question arises about the character and integrity of the Montenegrin government. Specifically, he says, what is the relationship towards the Minister of Defense? Dragan Krapović who publicly announces that the “Jadran” is a Montenegrin ship, while the Croatian minister hosted on the same ship says that it is Croatian, “obviously encouraged by the silence of the government representatives”.
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" states that, in addition, the question of Foreign Minister Ibrahimović's relationship with his colleague, the Deputy Prime Minister, is also being raised. To Aleksi Bečić, who was declared persona non grata by the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) government, “in which Minister Radman was probably a proponent,” according to him. This move is, in his words, “a serious and disqualifying interstate act.”
"Is this an issue that exclusively concerns Deputy Prime Minister Bečić or does it have something to do with the entire government," adds Lekić.
Krapović's department: Everything according to protocol
The Ministry of Defense announced last night to "Vijesti" that Krapović approved a visit to the ship "Jadran" at the request of Minister Ibrahimović and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"The aforementioned visit was carried out according to the protocol that the Ministry of Defense implements during every official visit of any foreign official. We were pleased to host our friends and allies from the Republic of Croatia on the Montenegrin training ship 'Jadran'," Krapović's department said.
Croatia has repeatedly called for the old sailing ship to return to Split, where it was based for most of the time during the former SFRY. Before the outbreak of war in SFRY and the international recognition of Croatia's independence, the "Jadran" sailed from Split in 1991 for a previously planned overhaul in Tivat, where it remained.
Montenegrin authorities claim that the ship does not belong to Croatia, citing the Agreement on the Succession of the SFRY. The "Jadran" is a warship used for civilian purposes and is subject to the territorial principle of that agreement - that the property of the SFRY passes to the successor state on whose territory it was located when it declared independence.
The office of Vice President Ivanovic reminds her that the issue of the training ship has been a topic that has been current for several years, and that Montenegro has, "through several iterations," communicated its position.
"In this regard, we refer to the messages expressed by the former Minister of Defense Predrag Bošković 2018, as well as the current Minister of Defense Dragan Krapović...”.
Bošković then said that in 2013 the Government allocated significant funds so that, after a general overhaul, the ship "would rise again and shine again in its most beautiful guise", and that this was precisely "a pledge for the future, a pledge that this ship would sail and be at the service of everyone in Montenegro".

Minister Krapović has repeatedly stated that "Jadran" is "legally and legitimately in the possession of the state of Montenegro" and that "there can be no negotiations with Croatia..." about it.
Ivanovic's cabinet says it understands Croatia's right and need to raise certain issues and express its views on them. They also recalled that in January last year, when he was foreign minister, Ivanovic announced that he and his Croatian counterpart "agreed that open issues and topics would be resolved through agreement and discussion."
"If we fail to reach an agreement on some of these issues in the foreseeable future, there are other common international instruments for that. The Croatian side has certain good arguments on these issues, but so does Montenegro. We will exchange these arguments, in a good and cordial atmosphere, as we have exchanged them during previous meetings," Ivanovic said at the time.
Bojović: An attempt to humiliate the state
Member of Parliament from the ruling Democratic People's Party (DNP) Vladislav Bojović, announced yesterday that Grlić is not the first time Radman has visited and used the hospitality shown to him "to try to humiliate and blackmail Montenegro, deceived by the illusion that he will get away with it with the majority Montenegrins...".
"He is also aware that warships do not have home ports, which means that the ship 'Jadran' in its long history was only temporarily anchored in Split, but he is using the opportunity to provoke and blackmail again, which is not only not in the spirit of the European Union's enlargement policy, but also severely compromises it," he stated.
In recent years, relations with Croatia have deteriorated due to some open issues. Among other things, because of “Jadran” and the sign at the former “Morinj” camp in Kotor. The biggest “cooling off” occurred this summer, when the Montenegrin parliament adopted a resolution on the genocide in the Jasenovac camp, which Croatia strongly protested, shortly after declaring the speaker of parliament Andrija Mandić (New Serbian Democracy), Deputy Prime Minister Vlado Bečić (Democrats) and leader of DNP Milan Knežević for the undesirables.
We followed protocol, were on the boat for 15 minutes
According to unofficial information from "Vijesti", the Croatian delegation followed the defined protocol during their stay on the ship "Jadran", which, among other things, included saluting the flag of Montenegro when entering and exiting the sailing ship.
According to the newspaper, the delegation from official Zagreb spent 15 minutes on the ship. They were introduced to the purpose and character of the sailing ship, and then visited its upper deck and wheelhouse.
There, "Vijesti" learns, they were introduced to the navigation systems installed for the safety of navigation, and then left the "Jadran" and moved on to the next activities according to the defined protocol.
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