Beijing offers Montenegro deferral of repayment

China has offered EU accession candidate Montenegro to discuss a postponement of the repayment of a multi-million euro loan for the construction of a motorway due in July. In a telephone conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Montenegrin counterpart Milo Đukanović, a possible postponement of the payment deadline until the end of 2022 was also discussed, Đukanović’s office announced on Wednesday. According to the statement, Đukanović and Xi spoke on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Montenegro’s president told Xi that the highway is the„most valuable infrastructure project in the history of Montenegro„. The project is part of the Belt and Road Initiative.