The visit of Acting Director of the National Security Agency (ANB) Ivica Janović to Italy was carried out independently of Prime Minister Milojko Spajić's official agenda in that country and in accordance with the procedures and standards of the secret service, claim the Government and that institution.
Janović was with the members of the Montenegrin delegation that paid an official visit to Italy a few days ago, but his name was not on the list of members, in the platform for the visit adopted by the Government. The document stated that the delegation, led by Spajić, included the Ambassador of Montenegro to Rome Milena Šofranac Ljubojević, the Chief of the Prime Minister's Cabinet Branko Krvavac, the Advisor to the Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs Milica Perišić, the Advisor to the Prime Minister for Economic Policy Milena Milović and the Head of the Public Relations Service in the Prime Minister's Cabinet Jovana Bojović.
When asked by ''Vijesti'' what the purpose of Janović's visit to Italy was, the ANB responded that, "due to the nature of the work that falls under the jurisdiction of the ANB", they do not inform the public about the location, dates and topics of the meetings that their director, as a protected person, attends.
"The visit of Acting Director of the ANB, Ivica Janović, to Italy was carried out in accordance with the procedures and standards applied by the Agency, as part of the collective security system," they said.
Janović attended Spajić's meetings with Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni and Italian President Sergio Mattarella.
The government told "Vijesti" that the head of the secret service attended some of the meetings as part of Prime Minister Spajić's agenda, "which was previously agreed upon with the Italian side."
Janović was appointed acting director of the ANB on December 12th of last year, after the previous head, Boris Milić, resigned.
The government made the decision to appoint Janović during a midnight, electronic session, which caused mixed reactions, as he is a co-owner of the company “Gvardia”, which he allegedly founded with security-interested person Mate Bošković. President Jakov Milatović said at the time that an attempt was underway to privatize the security sector and make it a function of party, not state, politics, while member of the Defense and Security Committee Jevrosima Pejović said that she was concerned about the prime minister’s irresponsible approach to security.
A month and a half before his appointment, Janović, in addition to Montenegrin citizenship, also had Croatian citizenship, which he then revoked at his own request. This is stated in a decision of the Croatian Ministry of the Interior (MUP), issued on October 30 last year, which "Vijesti" had access to.
Spajić paid an official visit to Italy from April 14 to 16 at the invitation of Meloni. During the visit, he met, in addition to her and Mattarella, with the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Lorenzo Fontana and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani.
The main topics of the conversation were, as announced by the Government, Montenegro's European integration, the improvement of bilateral cooperation, and economic development.
During the meeting with Meloni, there was talk of cooperation with partners outside Europe, "with an emphasis on cooperation with the United States of America (USA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with which both countries have signed intergovernmental agreements". The one that Montenegro signed with the UAE was met with harsh criticism from part of the domestic public, due to the possibility of leasing Ulcinj's Velika Plaza to an Arab investor through non-transparent procedures.
"The Italian Prime Minister particularly emphasized the importance of cooperation with, as she pointed out, reliable partners from the UAE, emphasizing that the new times require credible partners," the government said.
As part of the visit, the Prime Minister also met with representatives of the company "Terna", with the aim of strengthening energy cooperation and implementing new investment projects.
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