Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic went to an abrupt visit to Moscow on Thursday, Pobjeda newspaper learns.
According to Pobjeda’s reliable source, the reason for the two DF leaders visiting Russia is consultation with Russian executive and legislative branch on a series of issues, including presidential elections in Montenegro.
“In addition to continuing usual consultations on regional and domestic issues and economic cooperation, reasons for the visit include presidential elections,” the source said.
It is currently unknown whom Mandic and Knezevic should meet in Moscow.
Last week, Knezevic was in a seven day visit to Moscow, when he attended the parade on the occasion of the Victory Day.
The latest Mandic and Knezevic’s visit has come only a couple of days after a close President Vladimir Putin’s associate Sergei Zeleznyak said that Montenegrin opposition should have a common presidential candidate.
Zeleznyak, known for his extremist views, supports all Mandic and Knezevic’s initiatives, including united opposition’s actions.
In an article recently published by the Russian Word and carried by the IN4S news portal, Zeleznyak said that the US official Hoyt Brian Yee was pressuring opposition leaders in Montenegro last year, during a meeting in the US Embassy in Podgorica, to make a post-election coalition with DPS.
“Mr Yee was trying to make a post-election coalition of Djukanovic and some opposition parties. Such US behaviour has caused indignation of the opposition and led to adequate response of the leading opposition parties and their common platform,” he wrote, adding that the Parliament boycott, demanding snap general, presidential and local elections, as well as putting forward a single presidential candidate, could ensure the regime change in Montenegro.
The provision of a common opposition presidential candidate is an integral part of Democratic Front’s platform, which has been offered to the rest of the opposition and DF is waiting for a response for months.
Presidential elections should be held in the first half of 2018.
Possible candidates: Becic, Krivokapic, Abazovic…
Becic has been the only opposition leader who commented on his possible candidacy for the presidential elections, saying that he would “respect the views of his party bodies”.
Within the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the URA Civic Movement the candidacy of the parties’ leaders Ranko Krivokapic and Dritan Abazovic is being intensively discussed.
However, having in mind the fact that the two parties are getting closer (they run in the local elections in Herceg Novi in a common coalition), it is possible that they will discuss only one candidate. SDP leader Ranko Krivokapic counts on the support of some Western circles.
DF will have its presidential candidate for sure, but it has yet to be seen whether the candidate will be one of the DF leaders or, more likely, a non-party person.
