Montenegro's Government Approves Draft Treaty With Serbian Orthodox Church

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2022) The majority of Montenegro's government voted in favor of the draft fundamental agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), the meeting was broadcast by the Montenegro's Radio and television on Friday.

Out of the 18 ministers present, 13 voted in favor and 5 abstained. Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic declared the agenda item approved and said that there is an opportunity to repeat the vote at the next meeting or with electronic means.

�Disagreements between the former authorities of Montenegro, headed by the president and the head of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Milo Dukanovic, and the SPC backed by pro-Serbian parties led to mass nationwide protests of believers and became the reason for the first parliamentary elections defeat of the presidential DPS in 30 years in August 2020.

The next prime minister, Zdravko Krivokapic, who also failed to conclude a fundamental agreement on relations between the Montenegro and the Serbian Orthodox Church, lost his supporters and was ousted in a no-confidence motion.

Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, who assumed the post last April, visited Belgrade on June 30, where he was received by the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije. After the meeting, the head of the SPC and the Montenegrin Prime Minister reported that an initial agreement on the text of the document had been reached, but it would have to be approved by the Synod and the Cabinet of Ministers of Montenegro. On the same day, the Montenegrin Social Democratic Party organized protests in Podgorica against the signing of the document and repeated the protests last Monday evening.