Special Envoy of the US President, Richard Grenell met with the Prime Minister of Montenegro in early August Milojko Spajić, the recent president of the Republika Srpska (RS) Milorad Dodik, Minister of Finance of the Government of Serbia Sinisha Malim and head of the ruling Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knežević - "Vijesti" learns from several sources.
The interlocutor, familiar with the content of the meeting between Spajić and Grenell, claims that the Montenegrin and American officials discussed the political situation in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Albania, investments from the United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU), but that they also addressed the political situation in Montenegro, although, he claims, that topic did not interest the guest too much.
"Grenel told Spajic that Montenegro has a bad image due to frequent changes of government (after August 2020, ed.), and that this is one of the major complaints from investors," the newspaper's source said.
Asked whether there was any talk at the meeting about leasing Montenegrin airports, the interlocutor claims that Grenell and Spajić touched on the topic briefly.
"Grenel only praised Spajić for the airports in Tirana and Belgrade, saying how they were growing, etc., and how it would be good if Montenegro also had good airports. Spajić said that the World Bank and the EU were monitoring the tender (for the lease of the airport, ed. author), and that everything was going according to procedures," added the "Vijesti" source.
In mid-July, the work of the tender commission for awarding airport concessions was completed, which was marked by disagreements among commission members over the scoring of two bidders - the South Korean state-owned company "Incheon International Airport Corporation" (IIAC) and the Luxembourg-American "Corporación América Airports" (CAAP), the extension of evaluation deadlines, and accusations of obstruction and "cheerfulness" for one or the other bidder.
There is speculation in business and government circles that the Luxembourg-American firm is close to the company that manages Tirana Airport, as well as to some American businessmen from the US president's entourage. Donald Trump.
According to another source, Spajić was accompanied by the Minister of Public Works at the meeting with Grenell. Majda Adzović.
The Prime Minister and the Government did not respond to questions from "Vijesti" regarding the meeting. Grenell did not respond to inquiries about it, or his other meetings in Montenegro.
According to the newspaper, he met with Dodik at the Portonovi resort, near Herceg Novi.
The former leader of RS arrived in Montenegro on a private flight and went to the meeting accompanied by the Serbian member of the BiH Presidency. Željka Cvijanović.
Dodik did not want to speak to "Vijesti" about the details of the meeting.
"If Grenell was in Montenegro, I was with him. That's enough," he said.
President of the RS opposition party For Justice and Order Nebojsa Vukanovic, announced on his website in early August that Dodik, through Grenell, “who has good relations and connections with (the President of Serbia) Aleksandar Vučić", is trying to stay in power in that Bosnian and Herzegovina entity.
"However, all the letters and lobbying, groveling before foreigners, promises to be good and obedient, on which he survived for decades, were of little use to him because he had clearly crossed all the red lines and the end of his absolutist rule had come, which he obviously cannot come to terms with...", Vukanović assessed.
After Dodik was sentenced to a year in prison (the sentence was commuted to a fine) and a six-year ban on holding any public office for disrespecting the decisions of the High Representative in BiH, the Central Election Commission there annulled the mandate of the President of the RS four days ago.
He, however, said that "threats of prison" would not intimidate him or remove him from office.
When it comes to the meeting between Grenell and DNP leader Knežević, according to unofficial information from "Vijesti", Serbian Finance Minister Mali was also present at the meeting with them.
He and Knežević did not answer the editorial team's questions regarding the conversation with the US president's envoy.
A media outlet close to the DNP announced that Knežević spoke with Grenell for almost two hours, that the meeting took place "in an atmosphere of open dialogue and exchange of opinions", and that the president of the ruling party informed his interlocutor in detail about the current political situation in Montenegro - "from relations in the ruling majority and the challenges facing the current government, to issues of security, the economy and Montenegro's position on the international scene".
Grenell is considered a diplomat close to Trump. Since the end of January this year, he has served as his envoy for special missions, a position that Trump introduced upon his return to the White House.
Grenell was Trump's special envoy for peace negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo from October 2019 to January 2021, and from 2018 to 2020 he served as the US ambassador to Germany.
From February to May 2020, he also served as the acting director of the US National Intelligence Service, making him the first openly gay official in that position.
Grenell has repeatedly criticized the Prime Minister of Kosovo Aljbina Kurtiand in January accused him of bringing Kosovo-US relations to a “low point.” On the other hand, he is also considered close to Serbian President Vučić.
At the end of January, Grenell shared a video from student protests in Serbia in a post on the X network, commenting that it was important to let different voices be heard, but that "there is no support for those who undermine the rule of law and forcefully invade state institutions," which was met with harsh condemnation from the opposition and the civil sector in Serbia.
Grenell advocated for the closure of Radio Free Europe and Voice of America, stating that the US does not need state-owned media paid for by American taxpayers, and accusing journalists at those two outlets of being "far-left activists."
Đeljošaj bragged about meeting with Grenell a month ago
One of the Deputy Prime Ministers and Minister of Economic Development, Nik Đeljošaj, announced a month ago that he had met with Grenell during his stay in Washington, which he visited in mid-July.
In a statement published by some Montenegrin media, he stated that he thanked Grenell "for being a great friend of the Balkan countries", calling on him "to support the citizens of Montenegro and the Government on the path towards European integration, regional cooperation and strengthening ties with the USA".
"I assured him that the United States is our strategic ally and that we are working every day to make Montenegro a safe and competitive country for investments by American companies," said Đeljošaj, adding that he would further deepen ties between the two countries through economic and business relations.
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