MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/. Russia cannot ignore the European Union’s ongoing militarization and its provocative anti-Russian measures, Russian Ambassador to Montenegro Alexander Lukashik told TASS.

Montenegro’s accession to the European Union "is the country’s sovereign choice," he noted. "But we cannot turn a blind eye to the ongoing militarization of this alliance, its focus on escalating the confrontation with Russia, its military aid to the Kiev regime, the further tightening of anti-Russian sanctions, and its provocative actions, which bring the prospect of a large-scale armed conflict closer."

Lukashik said these factors "come to the fore when Russia assesses the European Union's expansion through the admission of new members that will automatically undertake an additional burden of responsibility for the deterioration of relations with our country."

The diplomat told TASS earlier that Podgorica plans to join the European Union in 2028. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in turn, emphasized that the process of integration into the European Union, in connection with which Montenegro had decided to impose visa requirements on Russians, "in no way implies that new members will be able to retain their neutral status."