WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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The American ambassador to Montenegro, Judy Rising Rejnke, said that the US expects the formation of the Government of Montenegro as soon as possible, which will be inclusive and committed to Euro-Atlantic values and reforms.
In an interview for the Voice of America, the American ambassador warned about the problem of foreign influence and misinformation in Montenegro, and said that she expects the new government to continue supporting Ukraine.
She pointed out that the goal is to form a government as soon as possible.
"I would not dare to predict what the government will look like, but I know that this is the most important issue facing those who recently won seats in the new parliament... I think the goal now is to form a government as quickly as possible and to ensure that it clearly reflects the mandate given by the people of Montenegro - you mentioned low turnout - but still a clear mandate of what the people of Montenegro want," said Rajnke.
She pointed out that at the moment she could not say who the political leaders could include in formal and informal talks.
"I can say that the US hopes and fully expects that this will be a government that reflects the Euro-Atlantic values that the leading parties have espoused, and I would assume that there will be inclusiveness in that process so that when the eventual majority takes its seat in parliament, they can quickly are making progress on reforms for the EU. At this point it is important that several key benchmarks for EU accession are achieved which require more than a majority - a qualified majority - to achieve this. It can be done. This does not mean that everyone has to be in government, but it means that it should be a stable government, and then the opposition should be constructive and recognize its role in helping the whole country move forward. Any backsliding is not useful right now. What really needs to be done is a strong forward momentum," she said. is Rajnke.
She stated that she and her team meet regularly with all political figures and this is a natural part of the ambassador's job.
"Thus, I met many different people, both in a public environment and in several private conversations, to hear their opinion, because my goal is to understand Montenegro and convince political actors that we will support any government that is clearly based on European values and shares our ideals," said Rajnke.
Rajnke also stated that the coalition "For the Future of Montenegro" (ZBCG) is not perceived as a partner in Washington.
At the same time, she rejected the statements of the leaders of ZBCG, who previously led the Democratic Front, that such an attitude of America represents interference in the electoral will of the citizens and the sovereignty of Montenegro, evaluating them as "provocative" and "unfounded".
In the case of Do Kwon, Rajnke pointed out that there is a US request for his extradition.
"Yes, there is a US extradition request addressed to the Government of Montenegro, but we have to leave that to the law enforcement authorities because it is a law enforcement issue. So, I think that Montenegrin law enforcement issues are being resolved here, whatever it looks like, and the issue of extradition would come up after that. I will let my legal advisor work on that issue. But I know that Montenegro takes seriously such red warrants that exist for organized criminals, potentially on its own territory," said Rajnke.
She pointed out that she doesn't know what to make of Do Kwon's name suddenly becoming very, very popular in the media.
"It didn't make much sense to me. But I know that voters have a desire and a need to know something. I think voters would really be more interested in what the parties stand for and what they can get from political parties, who are the political leaders of those parties, what they intend to do , what are their values. So, I think the focus should be on that - on the political process and on the ability of political leaders to achieve results for their citizens," said Rajnke.
M.J.
