Kurti's Office: Municipalities cannot change Montenegro's decision to recognise Kosovo
The official position of the Republic of Kosovo is clear: Montenegro's recognition of Kosovo was decided in 2008 by the country's constitutionally competent authorities and remains fully valid. Decisions or declarations adopted by individual municipalities cannot alter that recognition or undermine the good relations between our two countries, the office of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti told Television E in response to questions about bilateral relations after the Municipality of Pljevlja adopted a declaration rejecting Montenegro's recognition of Kosovo.
Kurti's office stressed that the Republic of Kosovo remains firmly committed to further strengthening good neighbourly relations with Montenegro and views such municipal initiatives as politically unhelpful because they seek to misrepresent the foreign policy of the Government of Montenegro. Such initiatives, it added, cannot be regarded as expressions of Montenegro's official foreign policy.
- We value Montenegro as a neighbouring and friendly country and as an important partner in promoting regional stability, cooperation, and our shared European future - the statement said.
On Tuesday, the Pljevlja Municipal Assembly adopted a Declaration on the De-recognition of Kosovo, with 18 councillors voting in favour. In addition to representatives of the ruling majority, the session was attended by Europe Now Movement councillors Radoman Andesilić and Tamara Rosić, as well as independent councillor Saša Ječmenica, all of whom left the assembly chamber before the vote. Opposition councillors from the Democratic Party of Socialists did not attend the session.
Earlier, on 12 May, the Zeta Municipal Assembly adopted a declaration annulling the decision to recognise Kosovo within the territory of that municipality. Nineteen councillors voted in favour of the initiative, which had been proposed by the Democratic People's Party, while no one voted against or abstained.
Yesterday's decision by the Pljevlja assembly was immediately welcomed by DPP leader Milan Knežević, who announced that he would soon reveal the name of another municipality intending to follow the same course, despite legal experts pointing out that such declarations have no legal effect.
For now, however, these initiatives are not undermining relations between Kosovo and Montenegro, Kurti's office told ETV.
- Our bilateral relations are founded on mutual recognition, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a shared commitment to peace, stability, and Euro-Atlantic integration. Today also marks the anniversary of the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion, which concluded that Kosovo's declaration of independence did not violate international law - the Prime Minister's Office said.
The statement added that Kosovo is aware such initiatives may reflect political influence from Belgrade, which, it argued, has historically sought to challenge not only Kosovo's independence but also Montenegro's sovereign and independent political orientation.
- Belgrade has long sought to reduce Montenegro to the status of a political satellite. That objective is unattainable. Montenegro possesses a long tradition of statehood and sovereign institutions, and those realities are irreversible, despite hybrid activities and political interference directed against them - the Office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo concluded.