President Milo Djukanovic of Montenegro has accused Yugoslavia's new leader of being unprepared for talks on the future of the Yugoslav federation and of wanting to dominate his tiny republic, a daily reported Saturday.
President Vojislav Kostunica "wants to rule Montenegro from Belgrade, thus determining its future," Djukanovic said in an interview published in the pro-government daily Pobjeda.
Djukanovic, who had earlier said his republic would hold a referendum on independence by mid-2001, said that the new administration in Belgrade "has a feeling of some paternal right to dictate to Montenegro what is in its best interest."
"We want to rule our state, but Kostunica would also like to do so," Djukanovic insisted, accusing the Yugoslav President of lacking "readiness for an open dialogue" over the future of the joint federation.
The statement came after the tiny republic plunged into a political crisis that could lead to early elections, following a split in its ruling coalition over the future of Yugoslavia.
Serbia and the much smaller Montenegro are the only surviving members of the former Yugoslav federation, but Montenegro started edging towards independence from Belgrade as relations deteriorated with former president Slobodan Milosevic.
Djukanovic's pro-independence government has proposed a loose alliance between the two republics, with Serbia and Montenegro having separate seats in the United Nations, while keeping a common army, foreign and monetary politics.
The new administration in Belgrade, led by Kostunica and his reformers grouped in the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) showed hostility towards the idea of both states seeking international recognition, but insisted the relations between the two republics should be redefined.
Zoran Djindjic, DOS designate for Serbia's prime minister, vowed that all "legal" decisions by the republic would be accepted by Belgrade, but asserted that remaining a part of the federation was "the less risky solution."
Earlier this week, Kostunica warned Montenegro against unilateral action.
"Any one-sided act could be seen as legal violence against the Yugoslav and Montenegrin constitutions, and playing with the future of the state and citizens," said a statement from his office -- PODGORICA, Yugoslavia (AFP)
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