Montenegro joins NATO as 29th Ally

Further information:

Foreign ministers from NATO signed Montenegro's Accession Protocol in May 2016, after which all 28 national parliaments voted to ratify the country's membership.

Montenegro was praised by the United States for sticking to its path of joining the Western military alliance in spite of Russian pressure. Russia vowed to review cooperation agreements with Montenegro as a result of NATO membership.

Montenegro officially became a NATO ally on 5 June 2017, upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the US State Department.

At a ceremony marking the occasion, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg underlined that Montenegro’s accession to the Alliance contributes to international peace and security, and sends a strong signal that NATO’s door remained open.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Montenegro’s final stretch on the road to NATO [OSW Analysis, June 2016] http://www.europeansources.info/record/montenegros-final-stretch-on-the-road-to-nato/

ESO: Background information: Montenegro: Towards full NATO membership [EPRS At a Glance, June 2016] http://www.europeansources.info/record/montenegro-towards-full-nato-membership/

EurActiv, 06.06.17: Russia threatens retaliation as Montenegro becomes 29th NATO member http://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/russia-threatens-retaliation-as-montenegro-becomes-29th-nato-member/

RT, 05.06.17: Montenegro officially joins NATO despite internal opposition https://www.rt.com/news/391001-montenegtro-nato-member-washington/

TASS, 05.06.17: Montenegro becomes 29th NATO member state http://tass.com/world/949954

Deutsche Welle, 05.06.17: At Washington ceremony, Montenegro becomes 29th and newest NATO member http://p.dw.com/p/2e9hk

European Western Balkans, 05.06.17: Montenegro joins NATO as 29th member https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2017/06/05/montenegro-joins-nato-as-29th-member/

Politico, 06.06.17: Support floods in for Montenegro PM after Trump shove http://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-nato-montenegro-pm-dusko-markovic-support-floods-in-for-after-shove/

Sputnik International, 05.06.17: Moscow Aims to Revise Cooperation Programs With Montenegro as Country Joins NATO https://sptnkne.ws/e9cv

B92, 06.06.17: Montenegro officially joins NATO http://www.b92.net/eng/news/region.php?yyyy=2017&mm=06&dd=06&nav_id=101462

Balkan Insight, 06.06.17: Montenegrin FM: Joining NATO is Not Anti-Russian https://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/montenegrin-fm-joining-nato-is-not-anti-russian-06-05-2017

---