It’s good if a NATO member wants good relations with Moscow, there’s nothing wrong with that. But, it all depends on the conditions. I think that Đukanović showed courage in dealing with terrible behavior of Moscow, which included the coup attempt and a murder, says the Professor at an American John Hopkins University and expert for the Balkans, Daniel Serwer.
He points out that, when it comes to the improvement of the relations between Montenegro and Russia, he’s not very optimistic.
“Russian manipulations are sometimes very efficient. Moscow gave Podgorica and many other cities in the region reasons to stay committed to NATO rather than Russia. Russia can only contribute to the destabilization and it will keep destabilizing Montenegro. And not even Montenegro’s membership in NATO won’t stop it. Anyway, why would it?”, says Serwer.
While commenting on the forthcoming EU – Western Balkans Summit in Sofia, Serwer says that Western Balkan countries must do more for themselves.