"It is beyond dispute that all the deadlines expire on February 4, 2006, (...) and a decision to call a referendum could be adopted on February 5, which means that the referendum could be organised within the next 45 days. Therefore, the final deadline for the referendum on the independence of Montenegro is April next year," Parliament Speaker Ranko Krivokapic said in an interview with the Vijesti newspaper.
Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said that until the referendum was held it was necessary to work on developing the democratic environment for the vote.
"It is necessary to create conditions to ensure that the response of citizens means the undisputed decision of the democratic majority," Djukanovic said in an interview with the Pobjeda newspaper.
Djukanovic said he did not expect strong pressure from the international community, adding that the European Union would not allow the standards it was developing and on whose implementation it was insisting to be compromised on the Montenegrin issue.