"Russia wants to make Serbia factor of instability"

"Russia wants to make Serbia factor of instability"

Reacting to the statement made by Chairman of the State Duma Sergei Naryshkin during his meeting in Moscow with President of Serbia's National Assembly Maja Gojkovic, Kostres also "supported Podgorica's sovereign right to make decisions about its own destiny."

"Such an inflammatory statement is yet another in a series made by Russian officials who often behave as if Serbia was their governorate. A Russian ambassador behaved like that in the recent past, in the middle of Belgrade. The LSV is telling the Russian Federation that Serbia is a sovereign country, and that the meddling of our country in the affairs of its neighbors, is impermissible," said Kostres.

He added he was "hopeful that Maja Gojkovic relayed these basic principles" to Naryshkin.

"If he thinks it is normal to meddle in the affairs of others, like the Russian Federation is doing in Ukraine, then he is very much mistaken," said Kostres.

During his meeting with Gojkovic on Thursday, Naryshkin spoke about NATO's invitation to Montenegro to join and remarked that, "knowing the brotherly relations between the peoples of Serbia and Montenegro, I think that you (Serbia) will not stand aside in that process."

The Russian official also said Moscow was concerned by NATO's expansion to the East and the alliance moving closer to Russia's borders.

"The stance of a large part, perhaps of most of Montenegro's citizens in well-known," he said, adding there was "great opposition" in the country to its membership in NATO.

Naryshkin noted that the Duma on November 20 adopted a statement calling on Montenegro's Assembly not to vote in favor of joining NATO.