"85% of people were against it - yet we recognized Kosovo" (Tanjug, B92)
Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Martinovic says his country "wants to see Kosovo in the EU and in NATO."
Markovic spoke for the Pristina-based RTK ahead of his trip to Kosovo on Tuesday.
The prime minister said Montenegro's government "had vision" when it decided to recognize unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo - despite the fact that, as he said, "85 percent of citizens were against that."
Montenegro will "support and help" Pristina's institutions "on the road to the EU and NATO" to the degree to which Pristina requests it, Markovic said, according to Tanjug, which quoted RTK's Serbian language website.
He also said that "regional countries have tradition, culture, and values" - but had "lost opportunities for a European perspective" due to "various historical circumstances."
Markovic told RTK's correspondent from Montenegro that Podgorica "has no open issues with Pristina when it comes to the demarcation question," and repeated that as far as Montenegro was concerned, this issue had been "closed."
And as Pristina is yet to ratify a relevant agreement, Markovic said he would on Tuesday "call on Kosovo PM Ramush Haradinaj to make a brave decision."