Montenegrin president Milatovic: Romania, Montenegro have a traditional frinedship

Romania and Montenegro traditionally share a long friendship, which we need to continue to cherish, the president of Montenegro, Jakov Milatovic, told a joint press conference he had at the Cotroceni presidential palace with the Romanian head of state, Klaus Iohannis."The friendship between Romania and Montenegro has a long tradition that we have the duty to continue to cherish, while observing the common European values," said the Montenegrin head of state.He added that, besides the historical relations, "Romania and Montenegro are connected by security issues." As NATO member states we are focusing on the stability of the Western Balkans and the Black Sea region," Milatovic pointed out.The Montenegrin high official recalled his country aspiration to join the European Union and thanked our country "for the entire political support and the expertise that it offers.""When mentioning economic relations, we obviously think of tourism," Jakov Milatovic added, while bringing into talks the plans for a direct flight between Montenegro and Romania that are being made.   In turn, President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday that the process of integrating the countries of the Western Balkans that wish to do so into the European Union must be sped up."We have long been supporters of Montenegro when it comes to European integration. We have supported them, we support them and, after today's exchange of ideas, our support will become even more consistent, but I hope it is no secret to anyone that I am a supporter of the integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union. In my opinion, the process has already been going on for too long, it must be sped up and the decisive step must be taken to integrate all the Western Balkan states that want to be in the Union, as it is mandatory to move quickly towards European integration also in Moldova and Ukraine," the head of state told a conference at the Cotroceni presidential palace, after the meeting with his Montenegrin counterpart Jakov Milatovic.He stressed that he supports Montenegro's ambition to take the decisive step towards the EU in 2028."I discussed these issues at length with Mr. president and he presented me with the ambition to take the decisive step in 2028. Personally, I believe that if everyone makes the effort it is an achievable goal. You have my clear support in this regard," president Iohannis said.Referring to the sectoral cooperation between Romania and Montenegro, the head of state mentioned that there are several areas where more can be done."The first would be tourism, because many Romanians are already going to Montenegro for holidays, but there are also areas that are very important for all of us, such as energy, especially renewable energy, but also agriculture, it is important in the area of internal affairs to have a very close and very good cooperation, but there are also areas related to culture, where we have a lot in common. There are many sectors where we can do more together," added Iohannis.   He also said that he welcomed the "firm measures" taken by Montenegro in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.The Romanian head of state assured that Romania will continue to support Montenegro and the other Western Balkan states against Russia's destabilising actions.At the same time, Klaus Iohannis praised the evolution of the Western Balkan country on the path of necessary reforms in the EU accession process and encouraged their continuation "at a sustained pace.""I firmly assured him of the support that Romania gives and will continue to give to Montenegro's European integration," Klaus Iohannis said.Iohannis also expressed Romania's readiness to offer expertise in the areas of negotiation. "We believe that, in this way, we can contribute to increasing the pace of these talks," he added.Iohannis praised the firm steps taken by Montenegro in response to Russia's aggression in Ukraine "in particular with regard to aligning with the European Union's foreign and security policy decisions, including on sanctions.""I assured President Milatovic that Romania will continue to support Montenegro and the other Western Balkan states in their efforts to counter destabilising influences generated or encouraged by the Russian Federation," the Romanian head of state said.Iohannis also spoke with his counterpart about the situation in the Republic of Moldova. "We highlighted the efforts of the authorities in Chisinau to combat the effects of the hybrid war and presented Romania's consistent support in areas such as advancing reforms, strengthening resilience and the process of European integration," the president said.Iohannis said that he and his counterpart agreed on the need to develop a more in-depth dialogue on security in the Balkans region. "As partners in NATO, we stressed that it is very important to build a common space of resilience against disinformation and malignant campaigns launched by the Russian Federation," Iohannis added.