Brussels : NATO invited Montenegro today to become the 29th member of the US-led military alliance, defying Russian warnings it would be a provocation and threat to stability in Europe.
The invitation to the small Balkan country comes with the West at loggerheads with Moscow over a host of issues, as NATO has responded to the Ukraine crisis with a military upgrade to reassure nervous ex-Soviet states they need not fear a more assertive Russia.
Announcing the move at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg insisted the “historic” invitation to Montenegro was no one else’s business and “not directed at anyone.”
“It is extremely important to underline once again that every nation has the right to decide its own path, its own security arrangements,” Stoltenberg said. “No one else has the right to interfere in that decision.”
Stoltenberg said he expected Montenegro’s accession talks to be completed early next year but ratification by the 28 NATO member state parliaments could take some time.
Montenegro Foreign Minister Igor Luksic said the decision reflected the great efforts his country had made to modernise and meet western civil society norms. “It is a great day for my country and for the alliance … It is great news for the western Balkans, for its unity and security,” Luksic said.
