Minister of foreign affairs Srdjan Darmanovic is sure that the Russian tourists will continue to come to Montenegro and that the disagreements between the two countries over NATO will not seriously affect our tourism sector.
Just a day after the US Senate ratified the Montenegro’s NATO Accession Protocol, Russian media have started a campaign against visiting Montenegro.
In fact, the Russian state television broadcasted the stories sending message that Russian tourists should not visit our country.
Asked to comment on the Russian media campaign to deter Russian tourists from coming to Montenegro, Darmanovic said that the political campaigns against the economic cooperation never produced good results.
As he said, tens of thousands of Russian tourists visit Montenegro each year.
“They were and still are welcome to Montenegro. They have been able to experience the beauty of our country and our hospitality. We are sure that the Russian and other tourists will continue visiting Montenegro and the Adriatic Sea, and that our current political disagreements with the Russians about our membership in NATO will not seriously affect our tourism sector,” said Darmanovic.
After the meeting with the minister of foreign and European affairs of Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn, Darmanovic stated that Luxembourg supported Montenegro in its European and NATO integration.
He added that Luxembourg had significantly helped Montenegro about its economic issues.
“We are also connected by the fact that there are about 8,000 of our compatriots living in Luxembourg,” said Darmanovic.
He also praised friendly relations between the two countries.
He also said that a direct flight Podgorica–Luxembourg would likely to be introduced, because a Luxembourg airline was interested in that.
Asked to comment on the attempted coup on the election day in Montenegro, Darmanovic said that the investigation was ongoing.
“Special prosecutor for organised crime should either bring an indictment against the people who are suspected of having committed this offense or give up the case,” said Darmanovic.
Asselborn said that, under Luxembourg’s support program €42m was spent on Montenegro between 2000 and 2014.
“We will continue to provide technical assistance to Montenegro in order to better understand the legislation of the European Union (EU),” said Asselborn.
He said that Luxembourg could invest additional efforts to enhance cooperation with Montenegro in the field of tourism.
