Montenegro, Croatia seek renewed talks amid strained bilateral relations

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović called on the governments of Montenegro and Croatia to intensify dialogue on open issues, and urged politicians to “lower the tone” and work on good neighbourly relations.

Milatović had previously met Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on the sidelines of the Three Seas Initiative summit in Dubrovnik, CE Report quotes FENA.

According to a statement from the Office of the President of Montenegro, the meeting took place at a time when there is a need for new momentum in bilateral relations and strengthening mutual trust.

After the meeting, Milatović said it is important to maintain high-level talks between Montenegro and Croatia, especially in this final phase of Montenegro’s European integration process.

He urged both governments to further intensify political consultations in order to resolve outstanding issues between the two countries as soon as possible.

“Open cooperation between Montenegro and Croatia is stronger than open issues, and that is the direction in which our relations should develop,” he said.

In his statement, he also called on political actors in both countries to “lower the tone” and strengthen messages of good neighbourliness, stressing that as President of Montenegro, he is ready to make the greatest possible contribution to this effort.

Relations between Montenegro and Croatia have been strained since mid-2024, with the immediate trigger being the adoption of a resolution on the genocide in Jasenovac in the Montenegrin parliament, proposed by the leader of the pro-Serbian right and Speaker of Parliament Andrija Mandić.

Mandić, MP Milan Knežević, and Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić were later declared persona non grata in Croatia.

Subsequently, in December of the same year, Croatia withheld its consent for Montenegro to close negotiation Chapter 31 – foreign and security policy.

Meanwhile, the two countries have begun negotiations on open issues and are reportedly close to an agreement on compensation for former Croatian detainees who were held in the Morinj camp in Kotor in 1991.

Croatia is also requesting that the swimming pool in Kotor, named after former water polo player Zoran Gopčević, who served as a guard at the Morinj camp, be renamed.

Open issues also include ownership of the naval training ship “Jadran” and the border dispute between the two countries at Prevlaka.