Montenegrin Premier Dritan Abazovic has denied his country is joining the Open Balkans initiative. He is attending in the Open Balkans Summit in Ohrid, North Macedonia, but only in the capacity of an observer.

“We’re not going to Ohrid to join the Open Balkans but to express – together with our EU partners and NATO allies – our stance concerning a regional initiative so that we could have a better understanding and cooperation”, Abazovic wrote on Telegram.

Abazovic’s message came after Albanian Premier Edi Rama said after an informal meeting in Ohrid on June 7 that Abazovic’s attendance “put Montenegro officially in the Open Balkans.