Montgomery: CIA protected Djukanovic, when Italians intervened, he turned to Russians
William Montgomery, former US Ambassador to Serbia-Montenegro, Croatia and Bulgaria, said the US had a ship with a CIA team located in Cavtat.
Source: Tanjug
According to him, the main task of the CIA stationed in the Croatian town was to protect the then and current president of Montenegro, Milo Djukanović, if the then president of the FRY, Slobodan Milošević, attacked him.
In an interview for the premium service of Zagreb's Vecernji list, and Podgorica's Vijesti reports, Montgomery said that it was difficult to raise funds to finance Djukanovic's government, so he said they started allowing tobacco smugglers to operate from Montenegro.
When asked what he thinks of Djukanovic's role in the history of the break-up of Yugoslavia, Montgomery said that "Djukanovic is the most capable, most agile politician in the region."
He also said that everyone knew what was happening, but they allowed it because it brought the money that Djukanovic needed against Milosevic.
"But when the wars ended and Milosevic fell, something like the scene from 'Casablanca' happened. The Italians said: well, that's where the smuggling happens. We have to investigate that. And so they started a big investigation that included Djukanovic. He sees that the Italians are going after him, that the British are starting to take organized crime more seriously, etc. And then he makes a shift again, this time towards the Russians. He sends his closest adviser to the ambassador to Russia with the intention of attracting the Russians to come and invest in Montenegro. And they do that. But then he sees another opportunity, moves away from Russia and joins NATO," the former US Ambassador said. A journalist from "Večernji list" then says: "The Russians are trying to carry out a coup d'état, at that moment, which is a serious matter."
"Yes, he survived that, too. He is constantly making huge strides in all directions, and that is amazing, and that is why I say that he is the most agile, most successful politician in the region," Montgomery said.
Asked if he had a role in revealing the story about the tobacco mafia and Montenegro in the media and that some believe he helped the Croatian newspaper Nacional and its former editor Ivo Pukanic, Montgomery said he was good friends with Pukanic.
"We worked closely when I was ambassador to Croatia. But I had no role in what you were asking me. When I arrived in Belgrade, one of my first tasks was to go to Montenegro, then part of Yugoslavia, and evaluate different political parties, to report back to Washington what are the beliefs of those political parties, what are the chances of Djukanovic's removal, so I met two or three times with representatives of all parties there, including the Serbian one. I see no acceptable alternative to Djukanovic because none of those other parties have the strength of his ruling party. The Serbian party has no commitment to Western values, in fact it opposes them because they are pro-Milosevic. So we have no choice but to stick to Djukanovic. That was not the position of the British ambassador (Charles Crawford), who thought that because of all the tobacco smuggling and all that, Djukanovic had to leave, but that was not my position, so there was no way I would be a part of the efforts taken to discredit Djukanovic", Montgomery said.
Asked if he had a theory about who ordered the assassination of Pukanic, Montgomery answered: "Yes, I have". Asked if it was the tobacco mafia, he said, "Yes, absolutely."
Asked to reveal any name, Montgomery said that he had been exposed to serious threats, which, as he said, were passed over to him by Serbian and U.S. intelligence services.
