The Serbian government has sent a 1.5 million euro bill to Montenegro's government for three years of rent on a luxury villa, used as the country's embassy in Belgrade, which has not been paid.
Blic daily reports that the deadline for payment is January 22, otherwise the Montenegrin embassy will be forced to move out.
"The next step is a warning before filing a lawsuit. We hope this will not happen, but we will strictly adhere to the rules of the legal relationship," a source from the Serbian government told the daily.
This is another move of Serbia's government following Montenegro's decision to establish diplomatic relations with Kosovo, despite Serbia's earlier requests for Montenegro to wait for a few months - until the International Court of Justice comes to a conclusion on whether Kosovo's unilaterally declaration of independence was in line with international law. Immediately after Montenegro's decision, the Serbian government announced the withdrawal of its ambassador in Podgorica.
The villa of 500 square metres, surrounded by a garden of 18 acres including a swimming pool, is worth an estimated 35,000 euro rent per month.
The building is being used based on an old agreement between the Montenegrin government and former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SRJ, from 1994. The Serbian government is paying some 11,500 euro for renting its embassy building in Podgorica.
The Secretary of the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mirsad Bibovic, announced earlier that talks with Serbia on finding an acceptable solution on the issue will be held.
According to the daily, no one in Podgorica has reacted to the bill. It is possible that the agreement will include resolving issues surrounding the Serbian embassy in Podgorica, which is temporarily located in the centre of Podgorica but is not suitable as its entrance is directly on the street.
Source:balkaninsight.com/
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