Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said on Monday that he expects Montenegrin President-elect Jakov Milatovic to step up his commitment to Montenegro's EU journey after his promise that he would see to it that his country enters the EU during his term.

On Sunday, Milatovic defeated the incumbent Milo Đukanović in Montenegro’s presidential runoff, and on Monday afternoon, Croatian FM Glic Radman commented on the outcome of the presidential elections in the neighbouring country.

“We expect Montenegro to continue its pro-European journey,” Grlić Radman said before a meeting of the leadership of the HDZ party in Zagreb.

Croatia has always supported and will continue supporting the independence and sovereignty of Montenegro, he added.

We expect the president-elect to show even stronger commitment to the continuation of Podgorica’s negotiations with the European Union, the Croatian minister said commenting that in the past two years, no headway was achieved in this aspect.

He said that integration into European institutions is in the interest of Montenegro.

In his first speech after the outcome of the second round of the polls showed that he was the winner, Milatović promised to steer Montenegro into the EU during his presidential term.