US attention towards WB region is increasing and that’s encouraging, said in the interview for the Voice of America president of Montenegro, Mr Milo Đukanović who is taking part in the 74th session of the UN General Assembly. Mr Đukanović pointed out he expected that the EU would appoint somebody who would deal with the problems in the region and stressed that there would be a new tempo in the implementation of enlargement policy.
VOA: You have just delivered your address in the UN General assembly. You said that the future of the Balkans lies in the EU. Tell us, do you expect acceleration of the process after the new appointments in the EC?
Mr Đukanović: First and foremost, I’d like to remind you that this General assembly is being held in the year when we mark 100 years of multilateralism. In some way, that fact has shaped the priorities of this year’s session. Therefore, the fundamental idea is to strengthen multilateral approach to finding solutions for serious global problems – from elimination of poverty to the establishment of peace, improvement of education and reduction of climate change effects.
My first impression was that many discussions tried to minimize multilateralism and suggest national approach to resolving global problems. That is something that should concern us all, since we don’t believe it is possible to solve global problems using national strategies.
In that context, we were the first to hold a political forum on the sustainable development goals. Some suggestions we made based on our own experience were quite useful, particularly suggestions regarding the establishment of more reliable, more intense and former cooperation between UN countries.
I’d also like to express my satisfaction with the fact that I once again had the chance to establish a great number of bilateral contacts. I had a great conversation with the CEO of UNICEF.
General Assembly session is always an opportunity for talking with the representatives of other countries- in the hall where the general debate is taking place, during lunch organized by the Secretary-General, at the reception organized by the American president…
I met many leaders here. I think this was a very fruitful experience and opportunity for excellent talks. I also think we reconfirmed our commitments to multilateralism and making contribution to the UN values.
This was also a opportunity to test the willingness of the new European administration to come back to the positive tempo of enlargement policy. We have been constantly warning about the slow phases of the last mandate. We have been reminding European structures that the vision of modern Europe would be equally useful for WB and the EU.
Some of the messages we received convey that the attention is drawn to the enlargement policy again. There’s a whole new tempo in the implementation of that vision in sight and I believe we can expect it. Montenegro continues with its reforms.
VOA: How engagement of Washington could be helpful? You have been told by the American Secretary of State that integration of Montenegro was high on the agenda of Washington. What does Washington expect from Montenegro?
Mr Đukanović: It sure can be helpful. I have so much experience with the presence and assistance of America in dealing with the problems in our region. I’ll remind you of the 1990s, when Milošević led Yugoslavia into the conflict with the most powerful political and military alliance in the world. WB was America’s priority back then. Montenegro and the USA cooperated in that period and it was the time when our countries established firm trust which is today a foundation for the future development.
I’m glad that Mr Palmer is special representative for WB. I think EU should do the same, find someone who would deal with the real problems in the WB.
What is encouraging is that attention of the USA is again on our region.
VOA: As far as problems are concerned, one of the biggest is probably Kosovo-Serbia relations. What is Montenegro’s view on changing borders?
Mr Đukanović: We have been warning that ideas about changing borders following ethnic criteria are not good and that every precedent would be a domino effect and could further endanger our fragile region. However, seems like that isn’t the dominant approach to settling this problem. Looks like some different approaches are being constituted. We are all interested to provide our maximum support to finding permanent solutions.
VOA: What do you mean by “different approaches”?
Mr Đukanović: I don’t want to elaborate on it right now. I don’t want to be someone who will spoil the chances. It’s good that there are more solutions and not only one.
VOA: When it comes to internal matters, dialogue between opposition and the government in Montenegro hasn’t been established yet. Is it possible to reach compromise?
Đukanović: Improvement of electoral legislation is currently on the agenda. I think we did our best to provide optimal election model to the opposition. Simultaneously, we see some new ideas emerging. Some ideas that have nothing to do with the improvement of the election system – request for technical government for example and for the revision of the results of elections held in 2016. OSCE –ODIHR found those elections correct. Therefore, I don’t think it should be brought into question.
We must behave responsibly when it comes to civic trust. We don’t see any need for technical government, there’s no need for experimenting with new models. If we find such a situation in the world, somebody giving up on ¼ of the mandate entrusted by citizens, then we will probably be ready to reconsider that suggestion. Right now, that’s impossible bit we are definitely ready to talk. I think the problem lies in the fact that opposition doesn’t know how to interpret our offer. Besides, opposition is afraid of another defeat.
Let’s try show more responsibility for the national interests of Montenegro. Let’s allow a regular democratic process to take place. Position number one belongs to this government and fighting for the position number two at Montenegrin political stage could only lead the opposition to the obstruction of national interests and targets. The Government will try to remain nationally responsible and we’ll do our best to establish the dialogue.
