The President of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, said Friday that the Serbian Church went before the army and that they were responsible for the Srebrenica genocide.

Djukanovic stated that Serbia has never accepted Montenegrin independence and views Montenegro as a part of the “Serbian world”. He added that the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) acts similarly to “clerical fascism”.

“I can confirm this for all the time I've been in politics, and we can confirm that by researching historical documents even from the 19th century,” said Milo Djukanovic at the conference “Western Balkans: A Key Part of the European Security Puzzle,” organized by GLOBSEC.

He said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was trying to present the protection of the interests of the Serb people in Montenegro as a legitimate goal.

“Interference in the internal affairs of another state cannot be a legitimate goal. I am sorry that Serbia is repeating its mistakes, and I am afraid that this is a realistic potential for creating instability in the region. Serbia is doing that relying on Moscow's support,” Djukanovic noted.

He added that he has a very fresh memory of the 1990s, when “the Serbian Orthodox Church arrived before the army.”

“They followed the same path – first the Church, then the army and, in the end, they were responsible, among other things, for the genocide in Srebrenica. The church is a dangerous tool in the hands of retrograde nationalism, and we should focus the political responsibility and attention on them if we want to eliminate destructive forces, dangerous for peace and stability in the Western Balkans,” the Montenegrin President concluded.