Ship Jadran Talks: Zagreb and Podgorica Fail to Agree

The commissions of Montenegro and Croatia held their first formal meeting on Friday, October 9, 2026, on the training ship Jadran and the succession of military property of the former Yugoslavia, and both sides left Zagreb with the same position they brought in. The subject is not bilateral in the narrow sense: it concerns the division of assets of a common state, of which Serbia is one of five successor states, and a dispute that continues while Montenegro, the most advanced membership candidate, tries to speed up the final stretch of its negotiations with the European Union.

Who sat at the table

The meeting took place at Croatia’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. The Croatian commission was led by Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, and the Montenegrin one by Dragan Krapovic. RTCG and N1 report that Krapovic is Montenegro’s defense minister, while Index, in its coverage, lists him among the heads of diplomacy. The statement after the meeting was published by Montenegro’s Ministry of Defense, on Facebook.

The two delegations agreed only on continuing the talks. Further consultations and a review of the documentation presented at the meeting were agreed. No date has been set for the second meeting, which according to Index is expected to take place in Montenegro.

What each side said

The Croatian ministry said Zagreb stands by its position on ownership of the ship:

“The Republic of Croatia expects this long-standing open issue to be resolved, along with the other issues of military property succession”

The Montenegrin Ministry of Defense issued a statement starting from the opposite premise. It described the meeting as devoted to the status of Jadran, “as a military and historical-cultural symbol of Montenegro,” and continued:

“Montenegro stands by its position on ownership of the training ship Jadran and expects this issue, as well as the issue of military property succession, to be approached responsibly, patiently and with respect for the arguments of both sides.”

In the same post, the Ministry of Defense also set out what it expects from the continued talks:

“Further consultations and a review of the documentation presented should contribute to finding a sustainable solution, in the spirit of good neighborly relations and constructive dialogue”

Podgorica also stressed that it is grateful to Croatia for its support to date for Montenegro’s European path, adding that it will continue on that path “resolutely,” remaining committed to dialogue “while protecting its state interests.” Zagreb, for its part, said it continues to support Montenegro’s European path and expects open issues to be resolved “in line with assumed obligations and European values.”

Why is the ship dispute tied to Montenegro’s EU path?

In July, Croatia said it considers the resolution of open bilateral issues important for completing Montenegro’s EU negotiations. Among them it listed the return of the ship Jadran, the question of prisoners of war and the former Morinj camp, missing persons, the property rights of Croatian citizens, and the maritime border. After the Zagreb meeting, compensation for Croatian detainees in Morinj and the return of property to Croatian citizens in Montenegro are mentioned as open issues.

By July, Montenegro had provisionally closed 18 of 33 negotiating chapters. Zagreb has thus publicly linked the ship Jadran to the completion of Montenegro’s road to membership.

The 2.7 billion dollar estimate

We previously reported on Krapovic’s statement that Montenegro never received a formal Croatian claim for military property worth 2.7 billion dollars. Grlic Radman recently cited that figure as the total value of military property that, in Croatia’s reading, ended up in Montenegro after the breakup of Yugoslavia, with Jadran being only one part of it. A Croatian diplomatic source explained this week that this is not a new financial claim:

“These are estimates made by experts on the basis of documentation about the military property of the former state, including vessels that were taken away from Croatia”

Ahead of the meeting, Krapovic said Montenegro holds the ship “legally and legitimately.” Podgorica is open to joint training and other forms of cooperation around Jadran, but rejects the possibility of the sailing ship flying two flags.

The sailing ship that outlived a state

Jadran is a sailing ship about 60 meters long, built in Germany in 1933 for the navy of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. For decades it was used to train Yugoslav naval cadets, with Split as its home port. At the end of 1990 it was sent for a major overhaul in Tivat, where the breakup of Yugoslavia caught it. It was never returned to Split, and today it belongs to the Montenegrin Navy.

The next step is a second meeting of the commissions. Until it is scheduled, both capitals stand by what they said on Friday.