Abazovic: Friendly with Vucic; Djukanovic wants bad relations with Serbia, which is not good for Montenegro

Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic said in an interview for Podgorica's "Vijesti" that he considered the assessments, which he interpreted as attacks, that the Serbian president was managing something in Montenegro to be frivolous, adding that his relationship with Aleksandar Vucic was proper and friendly, Nova reports.

Abazovic says that Montenegro is a sovereign state that intends to become a member of the EU but is also a parliamentary democracy.

"Our parliament functions at full capacity. Someone can say this or that about the government. The parliament with this constitution functions at full capacity, whether someone likes it or not. We are not a presidential system, with us, the function of the president is protocol. Due to political circumstances, it has come to a situation where someone does not want to give a mandate to someone, and that will hardly be repeated in the future. That is a specific situation, we will have other presidents, but we will not have this kind of struggle because Montenegro is maturing," Abazovic said for Vijesti.

According to him, he is constantly being accused that Aleksandar Vucic is managing something in Montenegro, and Abazovic rejects such things.

"I consider it frivolous. My relationship with Vucic is proper and friendly. My relationship with other people in the region is the same. With some, it is very friendly, with others professional, but there is no interruption in communication with any prime minister or president in the region. I think it is the duty of the Prime Minister of Montenegro, whoever he is, to inherit good relations with the people in the region. Whether we like a political option in the region is not our question, nor a question for our citizens. We have sovereign power, we respect others in the same way, and that's it. I think all this talk about Vucic is in the context of creating some negative political narrative for me personally. I'm glad that with him, with the prime minister of Albania, Kosovo, and with the chairman of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Council, we have relations that every Prime Minister of Montenegro should have," Abazovic pointed out.

He adds that Vucic's influence in Montenegro is overestimated.

"And I think that with such a relation, we create a more favorable environment for what you are talking about. I want to be correct – I think that we have to talk factually and not about what is our perception. Regarding the media scene, the problem is our media laws and regulations. If someone wants to say that we should have bad relations with the Republic of Serbia just because it suits Milo Djukanovic, I do not accept that as a good thing for Montenegro. If we are going to build walls, be in constant conflict, and fear each other, that is one concept. If we are going to develop cooperation, have liberal relations, do joint infrastructure projects, and connect, I choose the latter. It is a relationship that has nothing to do with someone who is in authority. I think that the perception of Vucic's influence in Montenegro is overestimated," Abazovic stressed.

Abazovic also commented on the claim that his communication with the public resembled Vucic's.

"The easiest answer is that it doesn't make any sense because, in my humble opinion, his strategy is top-notch, and we are very far from something that would be a top-notch strategy. That's my answer in a jesting tone," the Montenegrin Prime Minister said.