Dritan Abazovic

Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic (L) and Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic (R) in Podgorica. Photo: Government of Montenegro

Montenegrin Orthodox Church liturgy in Podgorica. Photo: Montenegrin Orthodox Church

After Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic on Tuesday called for negotiations about the agreement with the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Mihailo said that it must be treated the same as the Serbian Orthodox Church, the largest Orthodox community in the country.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that her Montenegrin counterpart, Dritan Abazovic, had "again drawn her attention" to the issue of the former President of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro from 2003 to 2006 who is avoiding justice in Montenegro and hiding in Serbia, but gave no details.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic (L) and Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije (R) meeting in Montenegro.Photo: Government of Montenegro

The largest ruling party, the Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, criticized the draft published on Tuesday as too favourable to the Church, the largest faith group in Montenegro.

There is no reciprocity in this latter demand, despite repeated judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg calling on Bulgaria to recognise a Macedonian minority in Bulgaria, which successive Bulgarian governments have ignored.

The United States has urged its citizens not to travel to Ukraine because of information that Russian forces have captured two American citizens. Zelensky met in Kyiv with Dritan Abazovic and Edi Rama.
Macron told Zelensky that Kyiv is obliged to negotiate with Moscow.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic (right) and the head of watchdog NGO MANS Vanja Calovic Markovic  at a conference in Podgorica. Photo: Government of Montenegro

A two-day summit of the regional initiative Open Balkans begins today in Ohrid, to be attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Ministers of North Macedonia and Albania Dimitar Kovacevski and Edi Rama, as well as officials from Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic at the commemoration in front of the daily 'Dan' building in Podgorica. Photo: Government of Montenegro.

The editor-in-chief and owner of the daily newspaper Dan, well known for his opposition to the then government, was shot dead on leaving his office in Podgorica on May 27, 2004. He had received numerous death threats.

Relations between Montenegro and Serbia are a priority, said Abazovic, who met with the Serbian President at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
"Relations with Serbia are a priority - we are ready for intensive cooperation in all areas of common interest," Abazovic wrote on Twitter.