The Montenegro government decided on Thursday to grant Italy's request and take in up to five out of 140 migrants who had been rescued and brought to Sicily aboard an Italian coast guard ship in late August.

“Respecting the principles of humanity and solidarity with people in distress, as traditional values of Montenegrin society… the government has decided to take in up to five migrants from the Diciotti ship, at Italy’s request,” the government tweeted on Thursday.

The Italian government had formally asked Podgorica last week to take in some of the migrants aboard the Diciotti.

Montenegro itself receives about 20 migrants every day who travel the so-called Balkan route, and illegally enter the country from Albania before quickly resuming their journey towards Western Europe via Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

The Montenegrin office of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said that it is dubious whether the migrants from Diciotti even want to go to Montenegro and stay there, as they do not see that country as their final destination.

The IOM also noted that if the Montenegrin authorities accept the migrants from Italy, they would most likely find another way to reach Western European countries.

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