The Federation Council called the visa regime with Russia unprofitable for Montenegro

The introduction of a visa regime for Russian citizens will have a negative impact on Montenegro, which will suffer from such a decision. This was announced on October 22 by Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council.

According to the senator, the peoples of Russia and Montenegro have had close friendly relations for centuries. He noted that Podgorica, having joined NATO in 2017 and aspiring to the European Union, as well as joining the sanctions against Moscow, renounced part of its sovereignty and national interests.

"The visa regime for Russians will be fully restored in the near future. I regret, and I believe that in the end Montenegro loses from this, of course, and not wins," Kosachev said in an interview with TASS.

Your train has left: Montenegro will lose visa-free travel with Russia due to its desire to join the EU

Candidates for EU membership lose the opportunity to remain neutral, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Russian Ambassador to Montenegro Alexander Lukashik said on October 22 that the bilateral relations between Moscow and Podgorica were in a state of unprecedented acute crisis. Lukashik stressed that the current situation was not the fault of the Russian side. At the same time, Moscow, according to him, stands for the gradual restoration and normalization of bilateral cooperation.

Lukasik said the day before that the Montenegrin side had sent an official notification on the termination of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Montenegro on the conditions of mutual travel of citizens dated September 24, 2008, on November 1, and from that date, Russian trips to Montenegro would be available only if they had a visa there or to a number of other countries, including the states of the Schengen area.