MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. Montenegro’s decision to introduce visas for Russians will negatively impact the republic's tourism industry and its entire economy, Yury Pilipson, Director of the Fourth European Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with TASS.
"Potentially, such a decision could negatively impact not so much Russia's tourism industry as Montenegro itself, which remains a popular destination among Russians. We are talking about the risk of losing several percent of the country's GDP, which, in turn, will hurt financial and economic indicators overall," the diplomat noted.
The diplomat clarified that this "painful effect" is due to the priority Montenegro's tourism sector places on the country's budget.
Pilipson recalled that when mentioning plans to introduce visas for Russian citizens Montenegrin representatives explained that "this step is conditioned by Podgorica's pre-accession commitments to the European Union."
"This is a clear example of how the demands of the European bureaucracy run counter to the real interests of a particular state," the diplomat noted.
