Montenegro can introduce a visa regime with Russia, but this will only be a demonstration by Podgorica of its loyalty to the West, and not a practical step.
Ekaterina Entina, head of the department of Black Sea-Mediterranean studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, and RIAC expert, said this on the radio station “Moscow Speaks,” a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“The question is what kind of regime this is. We know that there is still a huge number of private properties of Russian citizens: apartments, dachas, villas. I think that if such a step is taken, it will be primarily focused on the very fact of introducing a visa regime. And the internals of this regime will most likely be built in such a way that all Russian tourists who want to fly to Montenegro can come there,” the expert believes.
Milo Djukanovic, who is running for the presidency of Montenegro this year, announced his intention to introduce a visa regime with Russia. He retained influence in the country, despite the fact that opposition forces won the parliamentary elections in 2020 and created a government.
That is why, under the influence of the European Union, the prosecution of Russian citizens on fake charges of preparing a coup in 2016 continues. At the same time, according to opposition experts, 80% of Montenegrins are in favor of lifting sanctions against Russia.