The Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts (CANU) on Wednesday criticised a document in which its Croatian counterpart HAZU suggests the conditions Croatia should set for Montenegro and other countries in the region during their EU accession negotiations.

Last month HAZU published a document with recommendations for the protection of national interests during Croatia's negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia regarding their EU entry.

The document asks that Montenegro pay for the damage caused during the military aggression on Croatia in the early 1990s, that it ask for Croatia's forgiveness for the evils committed, and that the land and sea borders be finally defined.

CANU called the document an ultimatum and said it “does not lead to a dialogue between our states and nations.”

“It is important that national academies be guided by reason and the culture of dialogue in affirming national interests, but not at the expense of others,” it said in a statement.

CANU added that “history teaches us that national academies’ projects on the protection of national interests, with claims encroaching on the territorial integrity and cultural identity of other states and nations in this region, have not brought anything good.”

CANU hopes Montenegro's negotiations with the EU will continue “without blockades” and that “outstanding issues will be solved by respecting mutual interests.”