Tirana Times, August 28, 2026 – An extraordinary political and diplomatic controversy has emerged between Montenegro and Albania after Montenegrin media reported that Prime Minister Milojko Spajić was referring to Albania and Serbia when he warned of a coordinated hybrid operation aimed at destabilizing Montenegro and obstructing its progress toward European Union membership.
The allegation is potentially serious, but an important distinction remains. Spajić himself has not publicly named either Albania or Serbia. He said that Montenegrin authorities had obtained serious operational security information indicating that the expected closure of new negotiating chapters with Brussels would be accompanied by coordinated hybrid activities involving officials from at least two countries in the region.
According to Spajić, the activities are intended to destabilize Montenegro with support from certain political actors and part of the domestic media scene.
“According to our information, such activities are aimed at destabilizing Montenegro, with the expected support of certain political actors and part of the media scene in our country. We know these intentions and we are aware of their purpose. Attempts at destabilization will neither change our course nor stop Montenegro’s European path, which is greater than the daily interests of any political structure,” Spajić said.
It was the influential Montenegrin daily Vijesti, citing several sources, that subsequently reported that the two countries Spajić had in mind were Serbia and Albania.
That distinction is crucial. As of now, there has been no formal public accusation by the Montenegrin government against Albania. What exists is a serious warning by the prime minister about two unnamed regional states and media reporting that identifies those states as Serbia and Albania.
The controversy has nevertheless become important enough for President Jakov Milatović to call an extraordinary meeting of Montenegro’s Defence and Security Council for August 31. He has requested detailed information from security officials about the alleged coordinated hybrid activity and an assessment of the country’s security situation.
Milatović described Spajić’s claims as “very, very serious” and insisted that they be verified institutionally.
“Yesterday, the Prime Minister made serious accusations against political actors in Montenegro, accusations related to the destabilization of Montenegro. I think this certainly needs to be verified institutionally,” Milatović said.
He also demanded clarity about possible domestic involvement.
“I think the public needs to know who we are talking about. Who, I assume, are the ministers, even government secretaries, who are destabilizing Montenegro from within, who are connected to criminal structures and services,” he said.
The Albanian government responded cautiously, avoiding escalation while firmly rejecting any suggestion that Albania could be involved in destabilizing Montenegro.
Foreign Minister Ferit Hoxha stressed that no official accusation against Albania had been made and drew a clear distinction between Spajić’s statement and subsequent media interpretations.
“I have seen the statement by the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajić, regarding the alleged involvement of officials from ‘at least two countries in the region’ in coordinated hybrid activities. I have also seen the various media interpretations and insinuations that followed. Media reports are part of public debate. We read and analyse them with due attention, but we treat them with the necessary reservation, especially when they contain different or contradictory interpretations.”
“Although no accusation has been officially formulated against Albania, I want to state strongly and clearly that Albania is not and cannot be part of any destabilizing scenario, neither in Montenegro, a neighbouring, friendly country, partner and NATO ally, with which we share the same project of membership in the European Union, nor anywhere else. Albania distinguishes itself precisely by doing the opposite: investing every day in cooperation, mutual understanding, stability and regional development, as well as in broader European and Atlantic cooperation.”
Hoxha continued:
“Media speculation, interpretations or domestic political debates in a neighbouring country cannot and should not artificially create problems between our two countries. We are in continuous contact at all levels, and this is how I have acted in this case as well, in the communications I have had with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ibrahimović, as well as with Deputy Prime Minister Nik Gjeloshaj. Different actors, including political ones, are welcome to obtain from the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs any information necessary to avoid unnecessary debates and, above all, to prevent the country’s foreign policy from becoming the object or instrument of domestic party debates and approaches. Foreign policy always requires calm, maturity and responsibility.”
The response from Tirana is notably measured. Given that Podgorica has not officially accused Albania, the matter could arguably have remained within diplomatic channels while the Albanian government sought clarification. Hoxha’s statement itself confirms that such contacts with senior Montenegrin officials are already taking place.
Albert Rakipi, a former Albanian deputy foreign minister and currently Chairman of the Albanian Institute for International Studies, AIIS, says any accusation against Albania would be both unexpected and difficult to reconcile with the history and interests of the two countries.
“To raise accusations against Albania seems very unexpected and misplaced. Albania and Montenegro have always had good relations. Albania has no interest whatsoever in undermining Montenegro’s future. Such a claim is absurd. Nevertheless, we should wait for explanations from the Montenegrin government,” Rakipi told Tirana Times.
Rakipi argues that Albania cannot reasonably be placed in the same category as Serbia or other external actors that have sought to shape Montenegro’s internal political agenda.
“The efforts of third powers to influence Montenegro’s agenda are clear. There is not only the use of proxy actors by Russia. Serbia itself has its own agenda in Montenegro, based on its interests and on a policy that, if not revisionist, is at least aimed at maintaining influence and a degree of control through institutions in Montenegro. Albania has no comparable interest,” Rakipi said.
The distinction is particularly important because Montenegro has long faced pressure generated by competing geopolitical, national and identity based agendas. Serbian political influence, Russian interests and actors linked to Republika Srpska form part of a broader regional environment in which Montenegro’s European orientation has repeatedly become the object of political confrontation.
Rakipi does not entirely exclude another possible interpretation of what may have triggered concern in Podgorica.
He says Montenegro could conceivably be referring to ideas or efforts emerging from Tirana and Belgrade advocating a different approach to regional integration. If such proposals were ever translated into a serious European policy, they could potentially slow Montenegro’s accession, precisely because Montenegro is currently the most advanced candidate for EU membership.
“It is not entirely impossible that Montenegro has in mind efforts or ideas coming from Tirana and Belgrade for a different approach to integration. Such proposals, if they ever materialised, which at present seems unlikely, could delay Montenegro’s integration. Montenegro is currently the most likely candidate to join the European Union, although membership within this decade, by 2030, remains far from guaranteed,” Rakipi said.
But he draws a sharp line between disagreement over models of European integration and accusations of a coordinated campaign against Montenegro.
“To claim, or even worse to accuse Albania of working together with Serbia and lobbying in Brussels and in EU member states against Montenegro sounds more like a conspiracy theory requiring a great deal of imagination than a realistic political scenario,” Rakipi said.
Montenegro’s European future will in any event depend on much more than possible outside interference. Progress will ultimately be determined by the depth of reforms, the strengthening of the rule of law and the ability of state institutions to meet the conditions for membership. Podgorica also faces a series of unresolved issues with Croatia that could become increasingly important as accession negotiations move toward their final phase.
The Albanian opposition has also treated the reports seriously. Democratic Party parliamentary group leader Gazment Bardhi said that Albania could not be part of any destabilizing scenario in the region and called on the government to seek formal clarification from Podgorica. He said that any cooperation between Albania and Serbia aimed at destabilizing Montenegro would amount to a diplomatic and political scandal of extraordinary proportions.
For now, however, one fact should remain at the centre of the controversy: Spajić has spoken about two regional countries but has not publicly named Albania.
Whether Podgorica possesses security information that directly implicates Albanian officials, whether the reference concerns broader political manoeuvring surrounding EU enlargement, or whether Albania has been drawn into what is essentially an internal Montenegrin political conflict remains unknown.
The extraordinary meeting of Montenegro’s Defence and Security Council may provide some of the answers.
Until then, portraying Albania and Serbia as partners in a coordinated effort to destabilize Montenegro and sabotage its European future remains an extraordinary allegation in search of evidence.
