The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, told TV E from Podgorica this evening that he believes that Cape Oštro on the Prevlača Peninsula should belong to Montenegro in the negotiations with Croatia regarding the delimitation, because in this way the entrance to the Bay of Kotor is protected.
According to the Provisional Protocol on Prevlaca from 2002, that cape with the Austro-Hungarian fortress of the same name from the 19th century is part of the Republic of Croatia, while the sea is under the temporary regime shared by Montenegro and Croatia.
According to him, the issue of Prevlaka should be resolved “responsibly and state-wise.”
“Croatia has an advantage because it is in the EU, while Montenegro is not,” he said Milatovićadding that he hopes that the Government will resolve the issue of Prevlaka in a way to protect state interests and pointed out that Montenegro has no need to spoil relations with Croatia by putting itself in the position of a weaker negotiator.
Asked why he suggested that a member of the Commission for Demarcation should be the former diplomat Miodrag Lekić, who during the rule of Slobodn Milošević was the ambassador of the FRY in Italy at the time of the NATO bombing, Milatović said that Lekić is one of the most deserving that the issue of Prevlaka moved towards what is the national interest of Montenegro.
“I am sure that arbitration cannot escape us, but I would not like to face the fait accompli, for which the Government of Montenegro is now most responsible,” said Milatović.
When asked about communication with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, he told TV E that he has “institutional communication with all presidents in the region, with the aim of good-neighborly cooperation. I would not single out Vučić, he is the head of a neighboring country and while he is there, he should be seen as the president of that country,” said Milatović.
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