Viktor Kolbanovski, director of the Moscow-based Balkan Centre for International Cooperation and member of Putin’s ‘Unique Russia’, in an article published on eadaily.com, compared Montenegro’s NATO membership with the Ottoman Occupation.
“NATO’s presence should be considered as a temporary foreign occupation that the local collaborators wanted to bring in order to stay in power. But this unfavorable circumstance should not prevent the Montenegrin forces from further development of cooperation with Russia,” Mr Kolbanovski’s analysis suggested.
After Sergei Zeleznjak’s resignation, Mr Kolbanovski became first collaborator of Russia’s President Putin for the Balkans.
According to him, the two countries (Russia & Montenegro) still cherish ‘fraternal relations’ and it’s important to ensure full cooperation.
“However, Moscow needs to figure out new approaches and cooperation mechanisms in order not to repeat mistakes from the past. Montenegro should become an important aspiration of Russia’s Balkan strategy,” Mr Kolbanovski said.
