Montenegro's government has signed an agreement that regulates its relations with the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church despite criticism from the pro-European political forces, arguing that the deal would help heal deep internal divisions.
Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic and the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije signed the so-called Basic Agreement on August 3 without the presence of media and with no prior announcement, at Villa Gorica, a government building that was cordoned off by security forces as dozens of protesters gathered nearby.
The signing of the agreement came under immediate criticism by human rights activists and pro-Western political parties, including President Milo Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), which said it gave the church too much power compared to other religious communities.
The DPS, which is coalition partners with Abazovic, has said it would introduce a parliamentary no-confidence motion in his government over the deal.
"The agreement signed today, which is against the constitution of Montenegro, will be suspended immediately after the election of the new government," the DPS said in a statement.
The agreement regulates relations between the Serbian Orthodox Church, the largest church in Montenegro, including its real estate ownership rights, and the state of Montenegro.
Abazovic has said the deal, which had been approved by his government last month, was key for reconciliation between conservatives who favor closer ties with Serbia and Russia and pro-EU parties.
"I am sorry that this (deal) has not been realized earlier but this government is determined to grant identical rights to all religious communities," he said after the signing ceremony.
"I believe that in this way the message of peace and tolerance has been sent and that we are turning a new leaf."
The pro-Russian and pro-Serbian Democratic Front hailed the signing of the deal as the result of their political struggle for the rights of Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro.
Montenegro's politics have been long marked by divisions between those who identify as Montenegrins and Moscow-leaning Serbs who opposed the small Adriatic republic's independence from a former state union with Serbia and have been against its NATO membership.
Montenegro separated from Serbia in 2006 but its church remained under the Serbian Orthodox Church.
When he formed his minority government comprising both pro-European and pro-Serb parties in April, Abazovic said his primary goal would be unblocking long-delayed reforms that were hampering Montenegro's efforts to join the EU despite having opened accession negotiations 10 years ago.