CCE recalls that even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, CANU continued its cooperation with the International Association of Academies of Sciences, an organization that is today closely connected to the government structures in Belarus, and which did not condemn the Russian aggression.
"In addition, CCE approached CANU requesting information on whether CANU complies with Montenegro's sanctions against Russia, as well as an overview of all forms of cooperation with the Russian Federation from February 24, 2022 to the present. CANU rejected this request, explaining that it does not possess the requested information, which highlights the lack of transparency in its activities," the statement signed by the coordinator of the Active Citizenship program states. Sara Čabarkapa.
However, as the statement adds, an insight into the CANU Work Program for 2026 shows that, within the framework of the agreement with the Electric Power Company of Montenegro, the start of the implementation of an international project with the Russian Academy of Sciences, SANU, MANU and the Academy of Sciences of the Republika Srpska, dedicated to Leo Tolstoy and the cultural heritage of the South Slavs, is planned.
"The project will be implemented from 2026 to 2028, and the project partners include institutions from Russia. At the same time, CANU has no planned activities with the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine for 2026, nor are there any events planned to mark the 20th anniversary of the restoration of Montenegro's independence," it added.
As CCE further states, an insight into the CANU Yearbook for 2024, which is not publicly available, confirms the continuity of cooperation with the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Belarus.
"The same document states that the president of CANU, Dragan Vukcevic, during his stay in Moscow in September 2024, as part of the session of the Council of the International Association of Academies of Sciences, congratulated the Russian Academy of Sciences on its 300th anniversary. In the same year, the Committee for Mathematics and Physics of the CANU participated in the organization of a scientific conference held in Petrovac in cooperation with the Russian Academy of Sciences. At the same time, no cooperation with Ukraine was recorded," the statement said.
CCE also points out that on 4 March 2022, the Board of Directors of the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) suspended the membership of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus due to their connection to the Russian aggression against Ukraine, emphasizing that this was done in accordance with international sanctions, but also as an expression of commitment to the principles of academic freedom, human rights and democracy. ALLEA, of which Montenegro is a member, brings together 60 academies from around 40 countries, both from EU member states and beyond, and its goal is to promote science as a global public good.
"Also, several members of the Russian Academy of Sciences are under international sanctions for their role in supporting Vladimir Putin's regime and the aggression against Ukraine, which further complicates any institutional cooperation with these structures. Among others, Andrei Shutov, a Russian historian and member of the Central Election Commission of Russia, a corresponding member since 2022, is under sanctions by the US, Ukraine, Australia, New Zealand and the EU for his role in organizing illegal referendums in the occupied Ukrainian regions. Vladimir Kashin, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues and Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is under US sanctions for his role in the war in Ukraine," the CCE added.
CANU also announced the signing of a Memorandum with the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, whose president, Demberel Sodnomsambuu, has close ties with Russia.
"I am a man of the Russian world, I consider this country my second homeland, that is why I am ready to protect the interests of my Russian friends," he said last year at a ceremony when he was awarded the title of honorary professor of the Irkutsk National Research Technical University.
The title was awarded to him by the rector of that university, Mikhail Korniakov, who in 2022 publicly supported the aggression against Ukraine by signing a letter from the Russian Federation of Rectors calling for the “demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.”
CCE appreciates that institutions like CANU must consistently apply the values they publicly advocate.
"Cooperation with structures close to the regimes that participate in the destruction of Ukraine directly undermines the credibility of declarative support for that country. Therefore, we once again call on CANU to review such forms of cooperation and to align them with Montenegro's foreign policy commitments, as well as with the principles it itself refers to," the statement concludes.
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