Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic has sparked a public debate that matches the drama of Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning film “Saving Private Ryan”. In the movie, a group of US soldiers in Normandy cross enemy lines to save American paratrooper James Ryan. The mission is filled with danger, but the officer in command orders them to take the risk out of a desire to spare Ryan’s mother the loss of her fourth son. In Montenegro’s real-world drama, Abazovic recently suggested to the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs that the European Union should embark on a rescue mission to refinance Montenegro’s $1 billion debt to the Export-Import Bank of China – a debt that the country incurred to pay for a highway, and that comes due in July this year. Abazovic’s intervention came across as a spontaneous gaffe rather than a serious request. Nevertheless, it was widely interpreted as a signal that Montenegro cannot repay the loan, shaking investors’ confidence and leading to a sharp decline in the value of Montenegrin government bonds.