Marković: The West sacrificed Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina when it gave the signal to Vučić to freely create his own interests

Marković said that the national interests of Montenegro's Western allies obviously coincided with those of Serbia, and that is why Montenegro paid a "heavy price" - it lives according to the model of the "Serbian world".

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Marković, Photo: Printscreen/Youtube/N1
Marković, Photo: Printscreen/Youtube/N1
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Duško Marković, former Montenegrin Prime Minister and leader of the Party of European Progress (SEP), said in an interview with N1 BiH that the West had in some way sacrificed Montenegro, and even Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), when it "gave a signal" to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić to "create his own interests alone and freely" at the expense of other countries.

As he added, it is obvious that the national interests of Montenegro's Western allies coincided with the interests of Serbia, and because of that, Montenegro paid a "heavy price" - it lives according to the model of the "Serbian world", reports N1 BiH.

Marković also spoke to N1 about why he left the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) after more than 30 years and formed the SEP, and what his relationship is with the former President and Prime Minister of Montenegro and former DPS leader Milo Đukanović.

Question from journalist N1: Why leave DPS?

Markovic: I am practically one of the founders of DPS. I left a year ago, on the eve of the formation of the Party of European Progress. The decision to form a party came significantly later. There are two key reasons why I founded this party. The first reason is that the new government has created chaos and disorder in Montenegro in every sense. This change has brought nothing new except political insecurity, and Montenegro is currently in a chaotic and extraordinary state. The second reason is that the civic and European-oriented political option led by DPS has not found the best political answers to stop the evident devastation of Montenegro and its society. I assessed with my like-minded people that Montenegro needs a civic alternative to give our country a chance to recover. Therefore, the essential reason is the concern for the state, for its survival, and the inability of the civic and pro-European option to find its way in the state's decline.

Question from N1 journalist: Has DPS had a monopoly in Montenegro for decades?

Markovic: DPS was a state-building movement that pulled Montenegro out of the jaws of Serbian nationalism, achieving its independence. Of course, it also turned to NATO and the EU. But in recent years, even a decade, the ability to register negative phenomena within its own ranks has become dull. I would say that DPS has remained with these negative aspects even in opposition. In my political life, I have fought for diversity of opinion, for the confrontation of these opinions, for understanding my partners.

Question from journalist N1: What happened between you and Milo Đukanović? Do you have any contact with him?

Markovic: I must say that our differences began after the 2020 elections and in anticipation of the new congress. As his deputy, I spoke with him several times about the direction DPS should take. I wanted the party to understand this in the right way, to be an opposition party for a longer period, to review its weaknesses, and we differed on some personnel issues. It went in a different direction, I hope that this will not have long-term consequences for the party. There are no personal reasons, but since I formed the Party of European Progress, I have not had direct contact with Đukanović.

Question from journalist N1: What is happening in Montenegro, you said it is in a "state of emergency"?

Markovic: We have the rhetoric of the authorities that the time has come, that God has looked at Montenegro and that they are the ones who will bring us into the EU. But we see that Montenegro is lagging behind in every sense, that the Constitution and democratic standards have been violated. The essence of the problem is that the current government, pro-Serb led by a Chetnik voivode, intends to change the civic character of Montenegro. Montenegro is in a state of emergency. The government has not been able to hold local elections in certain places for two years. We have had repeated elections in Budva twice and the government cannot be formed there. The city government is not being formed in Kotor either. So, a general mess. There is a crisis in the Parliament because the Constitutional Committee of the Assembly has taken over the competences of the Constitutional Court in assessing whether a judge of the Constitutional Court meets the conditions for retirement. This is a key attack on a legal and political instrument. The opposition's reaction is truly justified. Unfortunately, the possibilities are small. I think that the attack on the Constitution is preparing the ground for activities to derogate from constitutional solutions and even to call a referendum on Montenegro as an independent state. And of course, changing the Law on Citizenship, where it is desired to introduce dual citizenship in order to change the political image of Montenegro. We are truly living through a serious constitutional crisis.

Question from journalist N1: You said that Vučić is destabilizing the region?

Markovic: He has destabilized the region to the point that we are now a bit of a powder keg. It is not only his merit. I think that this position of his emerged sometime in mid-2019 or 2020. He received a signal from international sources that he can freely create his own interests, and when it comes to other countries, that the interests of Serbia will be more important than the interests of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, etc. I would say that this mainly came from the West and from our so-called Western partners, and Vučić began to use it ruthlessly.

Question from journalist N1: Does this mean that your NATO allies are working directly against the interests of Montenegro?

Markovic: Obviously, their national interests coincided with Serbian ones and we paid the price hard, we lost the 2020 elections. Montenegro suffers because of this and lives according to the model of the "Serbian world".

Journalist N1's question: In the geopolitical situation, with the return of Trump and the strengthening of far-right forces, how much can we be threatened by Trump's return?

Markovic: I think that Trump's new term will bring dramatic changes in the international legal, political and economic order. I thought at the beginning and during his campaign that the experience from the previous term would help him to be more rational, careful and sensitive, however, his first moves show that the international order will no longer be the same as it was and that we definitely need to prepare for the new times that it brings, I fear serious challenges. One of these challenges is the growth of right-wing forces, including in our immediate surroundings. Serbia is in that political terrain, of extreme and right-wing political activity, unfortunately Montenegro is already experiencing it. You also have such a policy and such a trend in a significant part of your country and I believe that difficult times are coming and that we need to prepare. I think that multilateralism will lose its importance in this term of President Trump and that international politics will be dominated by interests and individual views of the opportunities and needs arising from those opportunities on the global international map.

Question from journalist N1: Was that change in 2019 called Rick Grenell, when it comes to President Trump's relationship with the Western Balkans region, when Grenell started making all sorts of deals and bringing President Vučić and the then Prime Minister of Kosovo to sign an agreement at the White House, and now Donald Trump is announcing him as a special agent for special situations that will include the Western Balkans region, in which he should be active?

Markovic: I think so. If the same or similar group remains in the Western Balkans in this administration, including Grenell, I thought his assignment would be the crisis in South America, but I registered the text about returning to the Western Balkans, then let's not hope for anything good, or something that will lead us into a phase of temporary, but it would also be good to have long-term stability.

Question from journalist N1: And what about what they say that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will have business interests in Serbia and Albania. You know very well that Edi Rama (the Prime Minister of Albania) is not a politician from yesterday. How good or bad can that be for the Balkans? Most say that it will be bad if politics and business mix in the Balkans

Markovic: Every Western investment is good for our region. It is not only good in terms of money and jobs, but also in terms of economic and business culture that eliminates bad practices, primarily corruption. I do not believe that this can be something that will affect our political and social needs in a positive way. That is why I said that a time is coming when values ​​will not be in the foreground. The United Nations practically exists only on paper and acts and acts as a non-governmental organization with appeals and statements without significant impact.

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