The former head of the Montenegrin Trade Commission in Washington, Ratko Knežević, denied claims by former US Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) William Montgomery that he sought support from the West in order to succeed Milo Đukanović.
Knežević accused Montgomery of not telling the truth.
In an interview with "Vijesti", Montgomery said that Knežević "led a campaign" to get the West to support him as Đukanović's successor.
"... He came to Zagreb, to the US Embassy, to formally ask for our support. I said no and I banned him from entering the embassy," Montgomery said.
Knežević claims that he saw and spoke with Montgomery only once, at the US Embassy in Zagreb, and at Montgomery's request.
"And then he invited me, as the only ethnic Montenegrin who could then be in that 'protocol', given my public status and views, because I had condemned that shameful attack on Dubrovnik and its surroundings from day one, to be a guest on the American aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), which sailed into Dubrovnik waters - unfortunately 10 years late - in the first week of May 2000," Knežević wrote on Facebook.
He added that he never saw Montgomery again after that.
"We never saw each other again, nor were we able to talk about my political ambitions. Nor, even if it were true, was he the address for such a conversation. In resolving the crises in the Balkans, he was and remained a very small, almost unimportant 'screw'," Knežević stated.
He also said that after his impeachment, Montgomery became an advisor in Tomislav Nikolić's campaign for president of Serbia, for $10.000 a month.
"I assume he is now advising Aleksandar Vučić, because in this morning's interview with 'Vijesti' he complimented him," Knežević said.
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