Luis Ayllón
The Spanish government has opened diplomatic antennae in Montenegro and Armenia, in addition to those it has already opened for some time in other countries in Europe and Central Asia that regained their independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, such as Georgia and Azerbaijan.
The Foreign Ministry’s latest call for applications for posts abroad includes those of Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, and in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. In any case, their incorporation will not take place at least until the ‘Bombo’, as the aforementioned call for applications is known in diplomatic jargon, is resolved, something that will take place at the end of April.
Those selected for these posts will be based in these two countries, but will report to the Embassies in Serbia (in the case of Montenegro) and Russia (in the case of Armenia).
Montenegro and Armenia have ambassadors in Madrid
Spain established diplomatic relations with Montenegro in December 2006, when the country split from Serbia, but contacts at the political level have been scarce. The Balkan country opened an embassy in Madrid in 2017, and sent its first resident ambassador, Aleksander Erakovic.
As for Armenia, it established diplomatic relations with Spain in January 1992, making it thirty years since that event. The new Armenian ambassador, Sos Avetisvan, recently presented his credentials to the King.
The government is also studying the opening of diplomatic antennae in other countries of the former Soviet Union, such as Belarus and Uzbekistan, which also have embassies in Madrid. In fact, this is included in the Foreign Ministry’s budget for 2022. However, it is precisely the budgetary problem that hinders the opening of the embassy in Madrid. In fact, the creation of the diplomatic antenna in Yerevan has been made possible by the suppression of the one Spain had in Fiji.
