The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MVP) claims that last week's government decision to temporarily hand over the premises of the former Russian embassy in Cetinje to the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU) does not mean the end of the story about the relocation of that department to one of the most beautiful buildings in the capital, which political actors have been promising for more than a decade.
This follows from the Ministry's response, which told "Vijesti" that the FDU will not use all the premises of the former Russian embassy, and that the department headed by it will Ervin Ibrahimovic "continue with previously initiated activities in one part of the facility, aimed at preparing the premises for use by the MVP when conditions are right."
The executive branch decided in the middle of last week to give the Faculty of Law, at the request of the faculty, part of the premises of the former Russian embassy, for the reconstruction of the former Turkish embassy building, which houses the Faculty of Law. Ibrahimović's department, as the newspaper was told, supported the initiative.
The proposal for the transfer of premises, published on the Government's website, states that the Turkish Agency for International Cooperation and Coordination (TIKA), with the assistance of the Turkish Embassy, conducted a public tender for the adaptation of the building of the former Turkish embassy, after obtaining all approvals from the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage and the Royal Capital of Cetinje.
"Given that TIKA received assurances and guarantees from the contractors that the planned adaptation works... would be completed in eight months, and that the first-ranked contractor in the public procurement should sign a contract with the TIKA Agency, the University of Montenegro, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has agreed on positions regarding this initiative, while the Ministry has expressed interest in meeting...", the document states, among other things.
The Public Relations Office of the Royal Capital told "Vijesti" that it was informed that the FDU will carry out teaching activities in the former Russian embassy only until the planned adaptation works in the former Turkish embassy are completed. Therefore, they state that, bearing in mind that this is a temporary solution, the Government's decision is acceptable to them, adding that they hope and will insist that the building of the old Russian embassy "be placed in the designated function of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
The office recalls that the building was damaged in a fire in 2012 and "purposefully renovated" for the needs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but that the department was not moved to Cetinje even after the completion of the works.
"We note that this is also required by the Law on the Royal Capital, which was adopted by the Parliament of Montenegro on July 26, 2017. We believe that this would further increase the diplomatic importance of Cetinje, as the Royal Capital of Montenegro, and that it would be important to put this representative cultural and historical object into its intended function," they said.
According to the Act on the Royal Capital (Article 9), it is the residence of the President of Montenegro, as well as the seat of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Culture. However, Cetinje is currently home to the residence of the head of state and the Ministry of Culture.
Political actors have repeatedly said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be moved to the capital. Such a promise was made in 2013 by the then mayor of Cetinje. Aleksandar Bogdanović and former ministers of foreign affairs and culture Igor Luksic i Branimir Micunovic.
"The relocation of the MFAEI (the then Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration) will be completed next year (2014). Mayor Bogdanović concluded that this will once again make Cetinje the leading diplomatic center in Montenegro, as it has been in the past," the Ministry of Culture announced on August 30, 2013.
One of the promises was made in early November 2015, when Bogdanović and Lukšić were accompanied by the head of the UNDP Fione Mekluni visited the former Russian embassy on the day the reconstruction began and said that the relocation would be completed in 2016.
Promises were also made by the authorities that came after the three-decade rule of the Democratic Party of Socialists was ended in 2020. Thus, in November 2021, the then Foreign Minister Đorđe Radulović announced that part of the MVP would be moved to Cetinje.
Most of these promises were made on the eve of local or national elections.
The building of the former Russian embassy was built in 1903, according to a design by an Italian architect. Cesare Augusto CorradiniIt served the needs of the embassy until 1916, and then housed a children's hospital and various educational institutions.
At the time of the fire (2012), it housed the Faculty of Fine Arts.
Plenary sessions of the Constitutional Court to be held in the capital
Recalling that the provision of the Law on the Royal Capital, which stipulates that Cetinje will also be the seat of the Constitutional Court, has never been implemented in practice, the president of that institution Snezana Armenko She told "Vijesti" in July last year that she believes that the seat of that court should be regulated by the Law on the Constitutional Court.
"... Which was our historical normative given, in such a way that it would be in Podgorica, and that plenary sessions would be held in Cetinje, in the manner determined by the Constitutional Court. There are a number of reasons that imply the logic of this position, and these are: easier access to the court, taking into account the fact that the largest number of submissions are submitted directly, by citizens from Podgorica, where the majority of Montenegrin citizens live, easier and faster communication with other state bodies," Armenko said at the time.
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