The Ambassadors of the Permanent Missions of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States of America to the OSCE in Vienna visited Montenegro on 19-20 March as part of a regional tour of the Western Balkans.
The visiting group consisted of Ambassador Fatène BENHABYLES-FOETH (France), Ambassador Susanne SCHÜTZ (Germany), Ambassador Stefano BALDI (Italy), Ambassador Neil HOLLAND (UK) and Ms Katherine BRUCKER (United States). As part of their regional tour, they first visited Albania on 18-19 March.
During the visit to Montenegro, the Ambassadors held meetings with President Jakov Milatovic, Prime Minister Milojko Spajic and Minister of Foreign Affairs Filip Ivanovic. The meetings offered the opportunity to discuss recent political developments at national and regional levels, and the path to the EU membership, with a particular focus on OSCE support to Montenegro’s reform programme. The Ambassadors also met with the Head of OSCE Mission in Montenegro H.E. Mrs Dominique Waag and had a meeting with representatives of beneficiary institutions and partners.
The interlocutors shared also their concerns with regard to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its wide-ranging consequences for security and prosperity in Europe and in the Western Balkans region in particular. The Ambassadors commended Montenegro’s strong and principled support to Ukraine at the OSCE and other international fora, as also highlighted during the recent Ukraine – South East Europe Summit.
