Montenegro’s president on Thursday nominated Zdravko Krivokapic, the leader of a pro-Serb opposition alliance backed by the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church, to form a government, ending three decades of socialist rule, news wires reported.

The leaders of the three main opposition groups in Montenegro signed a coalition agreement on Wednesday to form the next government and sought to alleviate fears that they would steer the small Balkan state off its pro-Western course and back toward traditional allies Serbia and Russia, news wires reported.

A preliminary official tally of Montenegro’s parliamentary election confirmed on Monday that the pro-Western party that has ruled the country for 30 years has won the most votes, but a coalition of three opposition groupings might still grab power, news wires reported.

Voters in Montenegro on Sunday cast ballots in a tense election that is pitting the long-ruling pro-Western party against an opposition seeking closer ties with Serbia and Russia. The parliamentary vote is marked by a dispute over a law on religious rights that is staunchly opposed by the influential Serbian Orthodox Church.

Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza on Thursday issued a ban on air, road and rail travel from Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo to Italy due to the COVID crisis, ANSA reported. They have been added to the list of 13 countries considered to be at high risk for coronavirus spread.

Montenegrin police have detained dozens of people after seven officers were injured in clashes with pro-Serb opposition protesters in several towns last night. Police say two opposition lawmakers are among the detained after protests late Wednesday in the capital Podgorica and other towns. The incidents reflect mounting political tensions in the small Balkan nation ahead of a parliamentary election set for 30 August.

Montenegro, the first European country to declare itself free of the coronavirus, announced plans to open its borders on 1 June to citizens of several European countries except for neighboring Serbia, provoking angry reaction from Belgrade, news wires reported.

Thousands of people, led by Serbian Orthodox Church clerics, marched peacefully through the Montenegrin capital Podgorica on Saturday in protest against a law they fear will be used to target the church’s assets and status.

he third edition of the EU-Western Balkans Media Days will be held in Podgorica, Montenegro, on 12th and 13th September, ANSA reported. The event was launched in 2017 by the European Commission.

This should have happened on the eve of the elections on 16 October 2016. The coup plotters planned to break into the parliament afterwards, guised in police uniforms and launch into power a pro-Russian government. Their aim was to block the country’s membership in NATO, BBC broadcast reminding that Montenegro joined the Alliance in 2017.