Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miro Kovač is attending in Brussels a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, which saw the signing of the protocol on Montenegro’s accession. Montenegro is to become the Alliance’s 29th member once all 28 member states ratify the protocol.
“The Croatian government and the president have promised to ratify the protocol in a quick fashion. We will do our best to be among the first to ratify Montenegro’s NATO accession”, Kovač said, adding it had been an honour to sign the protocol and congratulate Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đukanović on behalf of the Croatian government. “This is big news for Montenegro, as well as for Croatia, Southeast Europe and Europe as a whole. This is a contribution to the stability and security in Europe’s southeast and an important day for us in Croatia too,” Kovač told the press.
Afterwards, Kovač briefly met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. “The meeting was cordial and will soon be followed by bilateral talks, our cabinets and administrations are already working on it,” he said.
Asked whether the replacement of ambassadors was already agreed on and whether the names of new candidates were known, Kovač said that that matter was in regular procedure. “That is a regular procedure and I personally advocate that it be conducted according to rules and procedures. This summer will see a regular rotation of the heads of diplomatic missions and consulates. We are an organised country and this Croatian government, with me as the foreign minister, will contribute to further organising relations in Croatia, including foreign policies and replacing ambassadors and consuls, all according to rules and procedures based on known criteria - efficiency, professionalism and of course loyalty to the country,” he said.
Asked to comment on Serbia’s decision not to extradite three of Šešelj’s radicals to the ICTY, Kovač said “we expect the new Serbian government to remain committed to joining the EU, which implies full cooperation with the Hague tribunal, recognising its rulings.”