The hearing is over, and the vote will be taken later. The session is over.
Krapović responded that DPS is in a coalition with people with the same views in Budva.
He added that "vetting will lead to a cleaning of the system."
Živković responded that there is no law that provides for vetting, and that European practices are known.
"Vesna Bratić wants to be here. When she came and when the directors were removed, we said that it's not done that way. Today we have half a million in damages because of the way the directors were removed. You made some decisions in the security sector. Be sure that there will be others," he said.
There are a total of 7 government representatives in the hall: Laković, Subotić, Stjepović, Marković, Laković, Bogdanović, Ćeman and Nurković, who is presiding.
"They are attacking you because instead of smuggling drugs, you made the biggest acquisition - two patrol boats," Stjepović said.
DPS President and MP Danijel Živković said that 90 percent of the parliamentary majority did not vote for Montenegro's membership in NATO, and that an evolution has occurred and "today they follow the policy of the hated DPS."
"The moment you are in opposition again, you will all return to factory settings," he pointed out.
He said that "the government survived thanks to the opening of new ministries" and asked whether "the government would be dissolved if the former DF MPs vote against it."
"How did that totalitarian system allow any of you to progress during the DPS rule?" Živković said.
PES MP Miodrag Laković told DPS that more citizens would be in favor of independence and NATO if the process had not been led by DPS.
"I am sure that today between 55 and 60 percent of Montenegrin citizens would vote for NATO," he said.
He added that, instead of talking about where someone was in 2006 and 2017, it is more important to "where someone is now."
Živković replied that those who do not know the past will repeat it.
"If it hadn't been for 1997, there wouldn't have been 2006. We're not claiming anything for ourselves, but you have to agree that DPS is the largest political entity. It wasn't just political entities that participated in this, but also the intellectual public. But if those with whom you are in the coalition had asked themselves, there wouldn't have been 2006 or 2017. There wouldn't have been Montenegro. You have people in the coalition who still don't recognize an independent Montenegro today. The Speaker of the Parliament didn't deign to congratulate us on Independence Day. Didn't the same Andrija Mandić call on people to protest against NATO? And we remember what was being prepared in 2016. And I don't have to say that, that's what intelligence officers from Great Britain said," he said.
Krapović assessed that it is unpleasant to listen to "Russian elements being scorned from within the ranks of a party that made an agreement with Vladimir Putin's party."
"We, from the parliamentary majority, did not sell KAP and Sergei Shoigu did not come to us to ask where the 300 million was, but he went to ask the person who is essentially still at the head of DPS," he pointed out.
"Today you are talking about this so that there would be no talk about how those 100 apartments at the Old Airport were distributed. It is easier to talk about NATO, the EU, independence...", said the Minister of Defense.
Krapović added that "it is sad to count who came and who didn't."
"There is a possibility that they will go to Ukraine. I will not allow that, I am not in favor of that," he said.
Janović told Krapović that "if he has a folder for anyone from the DPS parliamentary benches, he should publish it."
"You were in the joint DPS until 1998 and you did not part ways with it because drugs and cigarettes were being smuggled, as you say, but because the DPS steered Montenegro towards independence, and you continued Milosevic's warmongering policies. We have not heard that you have ever renounced his image and deeds," he said.
He announced that Russia was a member of the Partnership for Peace.
"If there is any scandal related to apartments, the prosecutor's office has it, the courts have it," he said.
"As for me, I know how I bought and earned an apartment. I have never asked for even a square meter from this state," Janović pointed out.
Democratic MP Duško Stjepović said that people who promoted NATO contributed to a significant portion of citizens being against membership.
Democratic MP Boris Bogdanović assessed that it is important to remind citizens that they found chaos in the Ministry of Defense, a decimated and party-colored army, a department that was a coffer for financing party power...
"Full armament for the military company was issued from the military warehouse. The military personnel, together with the BIL personnel, were in the ANB basement. We found the Chief of General Staff smuggling a scooter from Zagreb to Montenegro. We found the military where it was said that someone had been 'recognized by the terrain'. We found officers and non-commissioned officers who were standing still because they knew that every act of courage was risky," he said.
He added that "those people who refused to bow their heads were harassed and persecuted."
"We are sending soldiers on a mission not to prove ourselves, but because for the first time we have nothing to hide," he said.
The Croatian Civic Initiative MP also announced that he would vote for sending soldiers to the mission, and that his party has been for the independence of Montenegro, membership in the EU and NATO since its inception.
SD MP Boris Mugoša said that "it is being forced to politicize a topic" that has been in a drawer for nine months.
"If we had a pro-European majority, this would be adopted in October," he pointed out.
"Today you do not have representatives from entire parliamentary groups, and that speaks volumes about the majority. We had a thousand flaws, but today you are following what we advocated for, and you obstructed in every way," he said.
He added that whoever votes to send the mission is voting for "Russia's aggression against Ukraine."
DPS MP Nikola Janović assessed that the best picture of the partnership towards participation in NATO is the number of government MPs in the hall.
"These days we are marking eight years since joining NATO, which is not only a military, but also a political alliance. The fact that Serbia, your mentor and a militarily neutral country, held this exercise with NATO just a year after Russia's aggression against Ukraine shows that it was a good and visionary move," he said.
Krapović said that he recognized some "political intentions" that he did not want to comment on.
"These topics are not for political bickering... Regarding the party I belong to - I am sure that if there had been no events on election day in 2016, we would have participated in the work of parliament and we would have also declared our membership in NATO. Our party was divided on that issue at the time, which is a normal occurrence," he said, adding that some EU members are also not participating in the mission.
He pointed out that the term "visionary" is used to cover up some things from the past, which were not good for either the state or the defense system.
"In those years, I had serious doubts about whether Montenegro should have joined NATO, but today I see that it is very good that the security of citizens is a matter for 31 other NATO members. It is important that we have a credible membership," he said.
Krapović said that Montenegro, as a small country, must consider what is best for its citizens.
Andjušić responded that, on the one hand, he thinks it is good that the minister and his party have come "to the visions of the DPS."
"Today I am a happier man that the Minister of Defense, and I hope his party as well, has come to our path," he said.
His party colleague Nikola Rakočević said that in November 2023 he submitted a request to be a member of the EU assistance mission to Ukraine, and 11 months later he made the decision to send soldiers, and that it took another nine months for it to find its way into the parliamentary procedure.
"Why are we washing our hands of it? Why don't we say that we are helping Ukraine defend itself from aggression? Because those who are washing their hands are funded by those who are committing aggression. According to the State Department, the Democratic Front is funded by the Russian Federation," he said.
He added that most parties in power will not vote to send them on the mission.
"It would have been more sincere if they had gone to Moscow with (Aleksandar) Vučić on May 9. Of course, they didn't do that, to cover their eyes," he said.
Krapović said that the mission could not be launched before the EU's response arrived in February 2024, and that his department reacted promptly, but that due to the non-session of the Security and Defense Committee, it was only sent to the Parliament in August.
"Regarding the Europeanism of the former government, I emphasize that this government and this majority have done more on the issue of European integration than all previous ones," he said.
Rakočević responded that it was "unacceptable for the decision to sit in a drawer for 10 months."
"Do you know why they haven't received aid for almost a year? Because of this parliamentary majority. You can only explain that to me in one way - that there is a serious Russian element in this majority. Part of the majority is financed from Moscow," he said.
Rakočević assessed that when a heterogeneous coalition is in power, "it must come to one port."
Bosniak Party (BS) MP Edina Dešić pointed out that soldiers from state communities of which Montenegro was a member participated in many peacekeeping missions, and Montenegro continued this practice after gaining independence.
"By adopting this decision, Montenegro will confirm its status as a credible EU member," she stressed, adding that this mission is just a continuation of the activities that the state has been undertaking "since the beginning of Russia's aggression against Ukraine."
Dešić assessed that Montenegro is ambitious to close all chapters by the end of next year, and this decision is important for closing Chapter 31 - Foreign and Security Policy.
She also addressed the situation in Gaza.
Social Democrat (SD) MP Nikola Zirojević told Krapović that he "can breathe a sigh of relief because the Chief of General Staff is no longer Zoran Lazarević" and thanked the former chief.
"This decision has been unnecessarily kept in the Speaker of the Parliament's drawer for more than a year," he pointed out.
Zirojević assessed that the message would be sent that Montenegro is a credible member of NATO, and that he hopes that a solution for lasting peace will be found in Ukraine and Gaza.
"It will be interesting to see whether Andrija Mandić will be the one from Brussels and Stockholm or the one from Podgorica, Berane and Pljevlja who values narrow party needs more at the expense of the interests of Montenegro," he said.
He asked whether, if the ruling majority is not agreed upon, their coalition agreement will be violated and who will be responsible if so.
Europe Now Movement (PES) MP Dane Marković said that, as a candidate country, sending soldiers to the mission is a duty, and that it will take place on EU territory.
"Russian officials have determined that it is unacceptable for any NATO member to be on the territory of Ukraine," he pointed out.
"Mr. General, I wish you a successful mission and that it be as short as possible," he said.
DPS MP Abaz Dizdarević said that the decision has been pending for a vote for "some 10 months."
"Today we are witnessing the greatest destruction on European soil since World War II," he said.
He pointed out that there is constant mention that soldiers will not go to Ukraine, and NATO has never committed to sending them.
As he added, they are absolutely committed to the Euro-Atlantic perspective and support going on the mission.
"Glory to Ukraine," he emphasized.
His party colleague Mihailo Anđušić added that regular activities towards NATO partners are not understood equally by everyone.
"These activities are being carried out due to Russia's evident aggression against Ukraine. The Montenegrin public knows who has problems with that. It is not good that as a NATO member we have such attitudes in the ruling majority," he said.
He said that the decision to join NATO for Montenegro was a "visionary" and "historic" decision.
"We are witnessing a historic maximum of support from the Montenegrin public for NATO membership," he said.
He asked Krapović how he would react to the decision on membership, given that the party he belongs to boycotted parliament when the vote on joining the alliance was held.
"A part of the parliamentary majority has a problem supporting this decision. The same ones who accused Zdravko Krivokapić of this decision three years ago," he said.
After a break, Krapović pointed out that the mission provides training to members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in chemical-nuclear defense, medical aspects and demining, as well as operational training for company preparation.
"According to available data, 75.000 members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been trained in these missions so far," he pointed out.
He added that 24 members have offered training and manpower for implementation.
He announced that Montenegro had expressed interest in 2022.
"I believe that the media's reporting on this sensitive matter was not good and I urge the media to look at these matters more thoroughly and cautiously," he said.
Civic Movement (GP) URA MP Filip Adžić assessed that he is recognized as having criticisms of decisions made by the Speaker of the Parliament Andrija Mandić and the coalition to which he belongs, but that today they signed the document.
"There is no doubt that this is Russian aggression against Ukraine," he said.
Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) parliamentarian Jevto Eraković said that today's item was delayed so much that even representatives of the European Union (EU) asked when it would be their turn.
"It exposes the double standards of the ruling majority. They would have been fine without discussing this," he said.
Eraković said that during Mandić's visit to the Swedish parliament, a statement said that there was also talk of "Russian aggression against Ukraine."
"The great guardians of Serbs and Russians are ready to do anything for money and privileges," he said.
"Today we heard it constantly repeated that our soldiers will not go to Ukraine, thinking that their soldiers with T-shirts with Ratko Mladić and war criminal Draža Mihailović will swallow it," Eraković pointed out, adding that he had proposed that Ukrainian flags be placed in front of the MPs, for which he did not have support.
At today's session of the Parliament of Montenegro, MPs are asking questions to the Minister of Defense, Dragan Krapović.
New Serbian Democracy (NSD) MP Velimir Đoković asked the minister if there was a chance that the watchtower in the village of Đulići near Andrijevica could be valorized through a private-public partnership.
Krapović responded that all former military checkpoints located on the territory of Montenegro were transferred for further management and use to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP), even before the declaration of independence of Montenegro.
Đoković appealed to the Ministry of Interior and the Municipality of Andrijevica to utilize the potential of this watchtower, which is a "ruin", and cited the example of the "Mojan" watchtower, which has been repurposed.
After that, a break was given, after which a new session will begin to discuss the Proposal for a Decision on the deployment of members of the Army of Montenegro to the European Union Military Assistance Mission in Support of Ukraine (EUMAM UA).
Bonus video:
