LOCAL PRESS

 

Vucic: Pristina’s only goal is taking north of Kosovo (Tanjug/RTS)

 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Pristina’s only goal was to take north of Kosovo and that it was not interested in forming the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO). When asked by reporters about developments regarding the formation of the ZSO, Vucic said: “Nothing.” “Nothing as usual. The deadline expires on 4 August. Remember what I had told you, that nothing will happen,” said Vucic. He pointed out that England did not oppose a solution for Kosovo and Metohija, but that it wished for Serbia to recognize independence of Kosovo and Metohija in full capacity, which, as he underlined, is no compromise solution. “They, even though they would not define that way, want Serbia to recognize independence of Kosovo and Metohija. From their point of view this is a solution for them and for Serbia to get nothing. That is not a compromise solution for us, and Serbia wants compromise,” said Vucic.

 

Dacic: Pristina cannot lobby and we to be silent (Novosti)

 

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has told Novosti that many don’t like the successes of our diplomacy and that a series of countries have been re-examining their positions towards Kosovo and Metohija, but Serbia will not give up. “We are being asked to stop lobbying for withdrawal of recognitions, but at the same time Pristina can continue with its mentors lobbying for recognition of Kosovo. This will not pass,” Dacic said in reaction to Ramush Haradinaj’s statement that Belgrade had been requested “truce” in lobbying with certain countries to withdraw the decision on recognizing Kosovo’s independence so the legally-binding agreement on normalization of relations would be “reached in peace”. “I don’t know in what other circumstances can an agreement be reached between Belgrade and Pristina but in peace. It is obvious that Haradinaj is losing his temper and that it has become his manner to threaten and mention war. I am just interested in whether his words are being approved also by their allies,” said Dacic.

 

Drecun: Obvious that Brussels, with Washington’s support, wants to accelerate process of reaching comprehensive agreement (Novosti)

 

The Chairperson of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun has stated for Novosti that it is obvious that Brussels, with the support of Washington, wants to accelerate the process of reaching a comprehensive agreement, and to close this story, as well as that the scheduling of a new round of talks for September, instead of being at the beginning of August, Pristina was left space for their parties to harmonize stands on what would be a compromise solution with Belgrade: “However, it is a dilemma whether there will be talks on the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) until then, as it was planned, because the deadline for the drafting the Statute of the ZSO is expiring, or this topic will be left to be part of the comprehensive agreement, as Pristina wants,” says Drecun.

 

Kuburovic: Serbia to accept recommendations on constitutional amendments (RTS/Tanjug)

 

Serbian Justice Minister Nela Kuburovic and President of the Italian Society for International Organizations Franco Frattini today discussed the upcoming changes to the Serbian Constitution in the field of justice, as well as further progress of Serbia in the field of European integration. Kuburovic pointed out that the harmonization of the draft’s text with the recommendations of the Venice Commission is currently underway, and that a new harmonized version of constitutional amendments in the field of justice will be completed by the end of the year. She explained that after that, the Ministry will send the text of the Draft to the government for adoption, and then the bill on constitutional changes will be sent to the Serbian parliament for debate. Frattini welcomed Serbia's decision to harmonies the text of the amendment with all the recommendations of the Venice Commission, and suggested that, after harmonization, the bill should be sent to the parliament as soon as possible.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

14th anniversary of Old Bridge marked in Mostar (Oslobodjenje)

 

The Center for Peace and Multiethnic Cooperation Mostar has organized an event marking 14th anniversary of reconstruction of the Old Bridge on Monday evening in Mostar. Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Denis Zvizdic, Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras paid a visit to the Old Bridge and threw flowers into the Neretva River as a pea e message. The Mostar Peace Charter was signed by Markovic and Tsipras this year; that Zvizdic signed the Charter two years ago, while Zaev signed it last year. At the later event, the first President of the ICTY Antonio Cassese received the Mostar Peace Connection award posthumously. The Mostar Peace Connection was also awarded to ICTY President Carmel Agius and wartime CNN reporter Brent Sadler who made the first wartime report from besieged Mostar. The award was given to Bundestag representative Josip Juratovic and Manager of the IFIMES from Ljubljana Zijad Becirovic as well. At the last part of the event, an award was presented to the individuals who contributed to justice through their personal engagement: BiH liaison officer for the ICTY Amir Ahmic, Director of the Transitional Justice, Responsibility and Remembrance organization Dzenana Karup-Drusko, member of the Steering Board of the Center for Peace Mostar Samir Nozic, representative of the Association of Fallen Female Soldiers of the RB&H Army from Vranica Azra Penava, President of the Mostar PoW Association Safet Nozic and representative of the Diaspora Association Denial Behram.

Zaev stated that the regional leaders are turning to the future.  “Our presence here in front of this new, reconstructed Bridge, sends a message that we are ready to implement the symbolism of Mostar in real life and to build our future on the past,” said Zaev. Markovic said he is proud to be signing the Peace Charter, and he expressed hope for peaceful future with the Old Bridge as a symbol that connects people. Tsipras, who was in his first official visit to B&H, stated that Greece is committed to supporting B&H's path towards the EU integration and it is the country which never questioned B&H's territorial integrity. Tsipras told media that after many years, it is possible to discuss the EU perspective of the region which, according to him, Greece fully supports.  Zvizdic said that he and Tsipras especially discussed the European perspective of B&H and the Western Balkans. "At the same time, I informed him that obtaining the candidate status and activation of the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as the next step towards NATO would be two most important messages for B&H. In those processes, Greece is our great friend, great advocate of European B&H," Zvizdic underlined.

 

RS Assembly Collegium schedules special session of RSNA on Srebrenica Commission Report for 14 August (RTRS)

 

The Collegium of the Republika Srpska (RS) Assembly convened in Banja Luka on Monday and decided that the information on the report on Srebrenica from 2004 will be discussed at a special session on 14 August, at the initiative of RS President Milorad Dodik. Representatives of the Coalition ‘Domovina’ voted against the special session, while representatives of the opposition ‘Alliance for Victory’ abstained from voting. Representatives of the institutions and interim bodies of the RS, which are connected with the report on the events in the area of Srebrenica July 10-19, 1995, are also invited to the special session. RS Assembly speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic noted that these include the former Prime Minister of the RS and former chairman or member of the Commission for Srebrenica who was preparing the report. He added that they are expected to address the RS Assembly and explain their stances at the time. Cubrilovic also believes that only the RS government can annul the Srebrenica Commission Report, sending a clear message that the RS Assembly can only discuss the Report. "It is certain that nothing will be annulled, because the RS Assembly does not have those competences. It is certain that the RS Assembly will not violate constitutional competences and legal procedures," Cubrilovic stressed. Dodik will also address the MPs at the beginning of the special session, as he proposed the discussion on this topic after the Association ‘Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa Enclaves’ requested from the prosecutor’s office of Germany to investigate the list of 22,000 Serb soldiers and police officers who participated in that operation. Dodik explained that he wants the truth to be established, which he thinks would reduce the possibility of misuse. He added that the report should also include the events that affected Serbs. “If Bosniaks got killed there, and they did get killed, this should be confirmed. However, if there were manipulations over there, primarily with regard to the number (of killed persons) that also includes those who went missing, that is an entirely different story,” Dodik said. On the other hand, representatives of the ‘Alliance for Victory’ are convinced the ruling coalition will take advantage of the special session for their pre-election campaign. They also deem the RS government is the only responsible for this issue, given the fact that this institution adopted the report of the Commission for Srebrenica in 2004 in the first place. They also demand documents with the subsequently established facts on wartime events in Srebrenica. NDP leader Dragan Cavic stated: “Given the fact that it is the one and only actor in the entire correspondence and investigation with regard to this issue, we expect the Government to prepare adequate documents that we demanded as the MPs.” Cavic underlined that it is not good to use this topic for political purposes. "If the RS Assembly reaches a decision to abolish the report, it would not be able to do that, because it did not adopt it in the first place. The decision on adoption of the report was reached by the RS government and the government can revoke it and state the reasons for that," Cavic said. SDS leader Vukota Govedarica stated: “The RS government has the only legitimate right and discretion to annul the report from 2004 if it is not good or if some new facts emerged.”

 

Leaders’ meeting brings agreement on ‘Przino Government, State Election Commission and financing of political parties (MIA)

 

After six-hour talks, the leaders of four main parties in Macedonia reached an agreement Monday on the details related to appointing a technical government before each election process according to ‘Przino’ model, election of State Election Commission (SEC) and financing of political parties. ‘The three leaders’ meetings took a lot of energy, patience and wisdom. We have shaken hands and expressed understanding about many issues. Even before signing the (name) deal with Greece we have accepted the conditions for election of the State Election Commission. Evan before scheduling the leaders’ meeting the working groups of the ruling SDSM and opposition VMRO-DPMNE have defined the wording of a draft-law on financing political parties, which incorporates opposition’s proposals. Today we have also accepted the VMRO-DPMNE request for legal changes that will enable for technical government to be appointed for each parliamentary election in a form identical to ‘Przino’ model,’ PM Zoran Zaev told reporters. "After lengthy discussions, the government has accepted VMRO-DPMNE's positions about the necessity of adopting a law on the financing of political parties, changes to the law on the government allowing a technical government according to the Przino model to be formed and members of the State Election Commission to be elected in Parliament by a two-third majority," opposition leader, Hristijan Mickoski said. Last week, the government forwarded changes to the Electoral Code to be considered in parliament that foresee SEC members to be elected with a majority of 61 MPs, instead of two-third majority. It's worth noting, Mickoski said, that the agreement we have reached today guarantees a successful electoral process whenever it happens, either on the eve of early polls or regular parliamentary elections. No agreement was reached over the name referendum with the opposition leader, Mickoski, Zaev told reporters after the afternoon session of Monday's leaders' talks.

Nevertheless, members of the State Election Commission (SEC) will be elected and a referendum will be organized. "Even though attempts have failed to reach an agreement this afternoon on the referendum, we will stick to what we have agreed in part one of the negotiations, namely the law on the financing of political parties, a Przino-style technical government and the SEC," he stated. Speaking to reporters after today's talks, PM Zaev said that Mickoski had refused to call on VMRO-DPMNE supporters to vote in the referendum and that the opposition leader had failed to recognize the moment. "He is lying when he says that he wants Macedonia to join the EU and NATO," Zaev stressed. Earlier, DUI leader Ali Ahmeti said that the party leaders had failed to find common ground involving the referendum question.

Main differences between the ruling parties and opposition VMRO-DPMNE are related to the formulation of a question that should be put to vote at the forthcoming referendum in Macedonia, party leader Hristijan Mickoski told reporters on Monday. VMRO-DPMNE considers that the referendum question must be unambiguous (not open to more than one interpretation), as stipulated by the law, Mickoski said, pointing out that ‘the question should be related only to the agreement’ with Greece. Representatives of the ruling parties and the opposition party VMRO-DPMNE have their differences when it comes to the referendum question, DUI leader Ali Ahmeti said calling the second part of Monday's leaders' meeting 'disappointing.' "The ruling parties have been defending Macedonia's state interests. There are differences involving the question that should be used in the referendum. We should all put state interest above party interests. And in this situation, I think the opposition should put state interests first," Ahmeti stated. DUI, he said, is putting state interests first, which involve Macedonia becoming a member of the EU and NATO. "And we will defend this pledge to the end." Leaders of the four largest political parties - SDSM, DUI, VMRO-DPMNE and one of Besa's wings - convened for a meeting - third one in a week - in an attempt to iron out differences and reach an agreement regarding the fall referendum.

 

Germany’s Roth commends Macedonia’s historic progress towards EU, NATO membership (MIA)

 

Michael Roth, Minister of State for Europe at the German Federal Foreign Office, commended Monday Macedonia’s historic progress towards the EU and NATO membership – a result of the Skopje-Athens name deal. Without a solution to the name dispute there could be no EU, NATO membership, and now we have a breakthrough to that effect – a great, historic achievement, Roth said at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov. It would be a tragedy if the country fails to seize the opportunity over a lack of constructive cooperation on matters related to the EU agenda, constitution, electoral code, Roth said. Macedonia’s NATO accession talks may be launched if the country keeps on with intensive implementation of necessary reforms, as it was the case in the recent period, Roth said. He also pointed out the European Commission’s decision to launch the screening process, aimed at preparing Macedonia for EU accession talks. Roth extended congratulations and gratitude to Dimitrov, the Macedonian, Greek Prime Ministers, Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras respectively, for their personal engagement in resolving the long-standing name dispute. He also urged the opposition to cooperate in implementing the deal, pointing out that all political stakeholders bear responsibility for the country’s future. Dimitrov referred to the future steps Macedonia should undertake for full implementation of Skopje-Athens name deal. ‘This is not just a matter of settling one dispute, but an issue of much larger geopolitical implications, as it is not related only to Macedonia and Greece, but the entire region. We have a historic opportunity and we should decide whether we shall seize it. This is the only way; there is no other for us. We must overcome ourselves; consider what we gain, what we lose and make a decision. Where Macedonia will be in the next months, five-ten years from now depends on the decision of each and every citizen. If there is another way it would be good to know about it; but there is no other way,’ Dimitrov said. He pointed out that a lot of room was at disposal of the opponents if the historic (name) deal in the recent period, but they failed to produce any substantial remark.

‘We are Macedonians, and continue to be Macedonians in Europe. We speak Macedonian and will keep doing so in Europe. We are opening doors; it is significant for our statehood, stability, future, it is rather important what we (the country) would be like in ten years. This matter is more than vital to be connected with any speculations. We must bear responsibility for our future; let’s not forget that the political change in Macedonia has happened first and foremost as a result of the thirst for responsibility,’ Dimitrov said. He also extended gratitude for Germany’s staunch support of Macedonia’s road to EU, NATO membership.

 

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

 

Everything You Wanted to Know About Montenegro But Were Afraid to Ask (politico, by Gordon F. Sander, 23 July 2018)

 

President Donald Trump is no fan of Europe, a point which he made clear during his recent hurricane-like sweep of Northern Europe, where he left a wake of diplomatic destruction culminating in his comic soft-shoe with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. In addition to criticizing the two largest European treaty organizations, the European Union and NATO, Trump managed to spritz the leaders of Germany and Britain, Angela Merkel and Theresa May, respectively, before turning his guns on his own government. Still, if any of our European allies could be said to have received the bum’s rush from Trump during the course of his tempestuous presidency it is the young Western Balkan republic, and newly christened NATO member, Montenegro. At a conference of NATO leaders in May of last year, the elbow-happy president brusquely shoved aside Dusko Markovic, the Montenegrin prime minister. Then last week, Trump added insult and calumny to injury in an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson. While discussing NATO’s common defense policy, Carlson asked Trump, “Why should my son go to Montenegro to defend it from attack?” The president’s head-scratching response was as follows: “I understand what you’re saying. I’ve asked the same question. Montenegro is a tiny country with very strong people. They’re very aggressive people. They may get aggressive, and congratulations, you’re in World War Three.” Predictably, Montenegrin authorities were flummoxed—and outraged—at the smear, as were many if not most of the 642,000 odd inhabitants of this hitherto relatively obscure southeastern European nation. “Today as a new NATO member and candidate for EU membership Montenegro contributes to peace and stability not only on the European continent but worldwide,” the Montenegrin foreign ministry fired back.

“We build friendships, and we have not lost a single one,” sniffed the government, clearly uncomfortable with being forced to play the role of The Mouse That Roared in Trump’s global floor show. “In today’s world, it does not matter how big or small you are, but to what extent you cherish the values of freedom, solidarity and democracy.” Daliborka Uljarevic, executive director of the Center for Civics Education, a prominent Montenegrin nongovernmental organization, was less diplomatic. Uljarevic describes her reaction, as well as that of many of her friends to Trump’s remarks as “disbelief.” “I really could not believe that the person I was watching was actually the president of the United States and that he could make such an absurd statement,” says Uljarevic. What on earth did Trump have against “tiny” Montenegro? Where did he get the idea that Montenegrins were “very aggressive,” no less that they might start World War III? Clearly Trump needs to learn a thing or two about the geography and history of this stalwart U.S. friend. Toward that end, with the aid of several prominent Montenegrins, including the ambassador to the United States, Nebojsa Kaluderovic, we have compiled the following corrective Montenegrin primer.

1. Montenegro is nottiny

Trump called Montenegro, with its land mass of 5,333 square miles, “tiny.” In point of fact, there are nine European countries that are smaller than Montenegro, including several which legitimately can be called tiny—Vatican City (0.17 sq. miles), Monaco (0.78), San Marino (24), Liechtenstein (62) Malta (122) and Andorra (181)—and three, Luxembourg (998), Cyprus (3,572) and Kosovo (4,212), which could accurately be described as “small.”

2. Montenegrins aren’t “very aggressive people”

Trump was partly right: Montenegrins are a strong and proud people, but they are no more inherently aggressive or war-like than any other European nation. The president’s description might have been more accurate during the fratricidal period of Montenegrin history extending from the 15th to the 19th centuries, when the mountainous territory was controlled by a congeries of warlike clans. However, even though they proved to be excellent mountain fighters, most of the wars they fought, including the ones they fought with their historic adversary, the Turks, were defensive ones rather than wars of conquest.

Montenegrins—or at least most Montenegrins—could be said to have gotten the war out of their system at the Battle of Grahovac, where Grand Duke Marko Petrovic and his troops defeated an Ottoman force twice their size on May 1, 1858, a victory which continues to be celebrated today.

That watershed induced the Great Powers to demarcate the border between Montenegro and the Ottoman Empire, granting it de facto independence. Montenegro was later recognized as the world’s 27th independent state by the Ottomans at the Treaty of Berlin on July, 13 1878, the day which Montenegro would henceforth commemorate as the Date of Statehood, or independence day. If Montenegrins have been fighting for anything since then, Kaluderovic points out, it has been to restore the pride of that 40-year interval of Montenegrin history when it was an independent entity. That four-decade passage came to an end after World War I, when the then-Kingdom of Montenegro was forced to become part of the new, larger Kingdom of Yugoslavia at the post-World War I settlement at Versailles. As the ambassador points out, the United States unsuccessfully fought for Montenegro to remain independent after World War I—a fact that makes Trump’s misrepresentation particularly painful. “The USA was the greatest supporter of Montenegro retaining its independence at Versailles, and the people of Montenegro still appreciate this. The friendship between Montenegro and the U.S. is enshrined in our history.” World War II brought more trouble, when the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was occupied by the Axis powers. Then, on July 13, 1941, the Montenegrin people rose up against Nazi Germany and its fascist Italian ally in the first armed uprising in occupied Europe, liberating most of their imprisoned part of the occupied Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Ultimately, though, the rebellion was crushed and the country was reoccupied.

After the war, Montenegro changed hands again when it became one of the six constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), and the capital was renamed Titograd in honor Yugoslav President Josip Tito. Forty years later, after the dissolution of the SFRY, Montenegro remained part of a smaller Federal Republic of Yugoslavia along with Serbia. Then, in the mid-90s, came the horrific Bosnian and Croatian Wars. However, as Kaluderovic points out, Montenegro’s principal role during those wars was an asylum and a haven of peace, when Montenegro took in over 120,000 refugees from the other warring states.

Finally, the resilient spark of Montenegrin freedom rose again on May 21, 2006, by which time the long-suppressed nation was one half of the bifurcated state of Serbia and Montenegro. On that day, Kaluderovic points out, in an arch take on Trump’s slander, “we regained our independence in a pretty ‘aggressive’ way—in a peaceful, democratic referendum supported by the international community” and Montenegro re-emerged into the bright light of freedom.

And so she remains today.

3. Montenegro mostly likely won’t start World War III

Over the pst decade, the Montenegrin government has tried to steer the newly independent country toward the West. Montenegro was formally invited to join NATO in December 2015. It officially became a member in June 2017, much to the distress of Russia, which saw in Montenegrin accession the loss of its traditional access to the Adriatic Sea and onetime Balkan ally. “We worked hard to fulfill the criteria for joining NATO,” Kaluderovic declares. “As the newest member we are committed to fight, together with our allies, the threats that all of us share.” He adds, “We also have our national plan for increasing defense spending by the prescribed deadline.” That does not mean that Montenegrins are spoiling for a fight. As Sinisa Vukovic, a native Montenegrin and professor of international relations and conflict management at Johns Hopkins University, points out, Trump’s response to Carlson’s query was as absurd as it was ignorant. “First of all,” Vukovic says, “Article 5 is a defensive clause and does not stipulate support for aggressive actions of any NATO member state. Just as important, Montenegro is a small country with a population of 640,000 and a standing armed force of approximately 2,000 active personnel. As such, it is in no position to threaten anyone.” Indeed, he continues, Montenegro, which has lately become a tourist hot spot, is trying to avoid conflict on its soil, or anywhere in the vicinity. “With its long Adriatic coastline and rugged mountain ranges, Montenegro has come to increasingly rely on tourism for revenue,” says Vukovic, “as such any instability in the neighborhood would cause serious problems for us.”

“The last thing we need,” he emphasizes, “is war.”

4. Montenegrin democracy is a work in progress

Like most of the Balkan states, it would be a stretch to call Montenegro a model democracy. On the upside it does hold free elections, and boasts a relatively vibrant and free press. However, it basically has been ruled by one man, Milo Dukanovoic, for nearly 30 years.

Montenegro also has a serious organized crime problem, which, his critics say, Dukanovic has deliberately overlooked. His admirers in the West, while not dismissing these concerns, prefer to focus on the deft way the strongman has steered his young country away from Serbian influence and out of the shadow of the Russia, and toward the West. Here is how Vukovic, who has few illusions about his homeland, puts it: “Montenegro experienced a great deal of turbulence during the 1990s. With raging wars nearby, the detrimental spillover of these conflicts on its own economy, coupled with international isolation, the country struggled to maintain its statehood and national essence. For the entire Western Balkan region, including Montenegro, the main residue has beenorganized crime and corruption.” Mihailo Jovovic, editor of Vijesti, one of Podjorica’s leading dailies, paints an even more downbeat picture of the state of the Montenegrin commonweal. The most accurate way to describe Montenegrin democracy he says, is “democratura—democracy on the surface, but mostly subtle and sometimes open dictatorship,” with rife cronyism, clientelism and corruption, much if not most of it the legacy of Dukanovic’s longtime rule. For his part, Vukovic, while not denying the problems Jovovic cites, says he is “cautiously optimistic” about his country’s future. “There has been some modest progress” in dealing with Montenegro’s seemingly endemic crime and corruption, the expatriate professor says, with new laws passed as well as a number of indictments against high-profile politicians. Montenegrin democracy is “a work in progress,” he declares, and as such will continue to require the support and advice of other Western liberal democracies—as well as that of NATO. Indeed, as he and other Montenegrins point out, Montenegro’s NATO membership and its prospective EU membership are the guarantors of the future of Montenegrin democracy.

5. If anything, Russia has been “very aggressive” toward Montenegro

During the run-up to NATO membership, Vukovic points out, Montenegro was “the target of excessively aggressive Russian rhetoric, which deemed Montenegrin membership as ‘an openly confrontational step’ and ‘a prelude to the new Cold War,’ and openly threatened retaliation.”

Vukovic sees a “stark and shocking” resemblance between Russia’s rhetoric at the time, and Trump’s recent anti-Montenegrin—and anti-NATO—rhetoric. Russia’s less than friendly intentions toward Montenegro were further manifested in November 2016, when a group of Russian nationalists attempted to stage a coup in Podgorica, Montenegro’s capital, on the day of the parliamentary election. According the country’s chief special prosecutor, who investigated the coup attempt, which was thwarted with the aid of Serbian authorities, the plotters planned to assassinate the prime minister, bring a pro-Russian coalition to power, and thereby block the government’s drive to join NATO and the EU. (The government is in negotiations with Brussels to join the latter organization by 2025.) Among the 20 Serbian and Montenegrin citizens arrested in the failed plot were a number who fought for pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine. Predictably, Russia denied involvement in the coup. Still, it was fairly clear who was the aggressor. Was Trump aware of the coup, which took place the month before his election? One doubts it. Was he aware of it when he articulated his uninformed, ill-advised response to Carlson? One wonders. In any case, as Wesley Clark, the retired U.S. general and former NATO supreme commander, points out, the president’s stunning, destabilizing jeremiad must have been music to Moscow’s ears. “Worrying to hear Trump use Russian talking points with Tucker Carlson about Montenegro,” Clark tweeted. “Montenegro has been under continuous pressure by Russia for more than a decade. Trump’s comments weaken NATO, give a license to cause trouble and thereby actually increase the risk of renewed conflict in the Balkans.” Uljarevic was more philosophical about the president’s remarks about her country, pointing out that it led to “abundant jokes on the Montenegrin social media, led to a lot of people who had never heard of Montenegro to Google it, and provided lots of material for comedy sketches worldwide.” If anything, she says, the joke of the matter—insofar as one could joke about it—was on the American people “who had the misfortune to elect Donald Trump as president.”

Gordon F. Sander is a journalist and historian, authoring most recently The Hundred Day Winter War.