Montenegro’s prime minister says he has spoken on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and expressed readiness to visit Kyiv.
Dritan Abazovic also told Zelenskyy on Thursday that he will suggest to other leaders of countries in the Western Balkans that they should all travel to Ukraine together to show support.
Small Montenegro in 2017 defied Russia’s strong opposition to join NATO, and is viewed as the next in line for EU membership.
The country, along with North Macedonia and Bulgaria, prevented the visit of Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to neighboring Serbia earlier this week by refusing to grant permit for his plane to fly through their airspace.
Abazovic hopes that Ukraine, too, will soon become a formal EU candidate, said a statement from his office. Abazovic offered Montenegro’s help on Ukraine’s accession path.
The statement also says that Zelenskyy invited Abazovic to visit Kyiv as soon as possible.
