The Foreign Affairs Minister of Montenegro Srdjan Darmanovic, at a ceremony at the US Department of State, handed over to US Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Shannon a document on the country’s accession to NATO. Since that moment, Montenegro has officially become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance, RIA Novosti reported.
«The accession of Montenegro is a testament to the fact that NATO’s doors remain open to those countries that want to implement the reforms necessary to meet the high standards of the alliance and are ready to accept all risks, obligations and benefits associated with the membership," Thomas Shannon said.
The Secretary General of the alliance Jens Stoltenberg, who attended the ceremony, said that Montenegro's accession to NATO is «good for itself» and for stability in the Western Balkans.
On June 7, Montenegro's flags will be hoisted at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, the Supreme Command of the Joint NATO Armed Forces in Europe in the Belgian city of Mons and the NATO Strategic Command for Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia, in the United States.
Montenegro was invited to NATO in December 2015. On June 5, 2017, it became the 29th member of the North Atlantic alliance.
As Western media noted, the accession of Montenegro will complete the establishment of an alliance of control over the Adriatic coast, as other coastal countries — Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Albania — are already part of NATO. At the same time, defense spending in Montenegro is much less than that of any of the allies.
