Croatia declared Mandić, Knežević and Bečić personas non grata

Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia informed Montenegro today, in a note sent to the Embassy of Montenegro in Zagreb, that the Republic of Croatia declared Andrija Mandić, President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Milan Knežević, Member of the Parliament of Montenegro, and Aleksa Bečić, Deputy Prime Minister Montenegro, personas non grata in the Republic of Croatia due to the systematic violation of good neighborly relations with the Republic of Croatia and continuous abuse of the Republic of Croatia for internal political purposes.

"Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs regrets that the majority in the Parliament of Montenegro decided to ignore the continuous calls of the Republic of Croatia not to make moves that could negatively affect our bilateral relations and Montenegro's European path. In this context, the actions of the aforementioned political officials are especially singled out, and their behavior cannot be considered benevolent and good-neighborly in relation to the Republic of Croatia, nor is it in line with the declared goal of Montenegro's membership in the European Union," announced Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

"Good-neighborly relations are one of the key elements of the enlargement process as well as the stabilization and association process, and one of the key criteria for assessing progress in the accession process of Montenegro. Croatia supports European Montenegro, supports the process of accession to the European Union and advocated progress on Montenegro's European path. The Republic of Croatia expects that Montenegro will behave in accordance with European values ​​and in the European spirit and that it will focus its efforts on further fulfilling the conditions and criteria in the accession process," the announcement added.