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Montenegro - NATO Relations

Montenegro is NATO's 29th and newest member, having joined in June 2017. Trump has history with the small Balkan state. At the 2017 NATO summit, the president pushed aside Prime Minister Dusko Markovic as the leaders prepared for a group photo, almost elbowing him in the face.

NATO officials on 18 July 2018 scrambled to reassert the alliance's collective defense clause — commonly referred to as Article 5 — after US President Donald Trump appeared to suggest NATO's newest member Montenegro could instigate World War III. A NATO official told Germany's DPA news agency that Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty was "unconditional and iron-clad," reaffirming that "an attack on one is an attack on all."

In a television interview, Trump appeared to cast doubt over the US' commitment to defending NATO partner Montenegro in the event of an attack. Fox News host Tucker Carlson asked Trump "why should my son go to Montenegro to defend it from attack," to which the president responded "I've asked the same question." Trump went on to describe Montenegrins as a "very strong" and "very aggressive people."

"They may get aggressive and congratulations, you're in World War III," he added. "It's very unfair because they aren't even paying and we are protecting them." With a population of just over 620,000, the tiny Balkan country also contributes more troops per capita to the war in Afghanistan than the US. With a population of just over 620,000, the tiny Balkan country also contributes more troops per capita to the war in Afghanistan than the US.

On 28 March 2017, the US Senate approved Montenegro's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Donald Trump ratified the protocol for Montenegro’s accession to NATO, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in a release on 11 April 2017. Montenegro’s accession would mark NATO’s first expansion in southeast Europe in six years.

Montenegro marked an important step on its road towards NATO membership on Monday (15 February 2016), beginning two days of Accession Talks in Brussels. The talks cover the details of membership including political, military and legal questions, and provide an opportunity for both sides to clarify outstanding issues. Following the talks, the next step will be for Allies to sign an Accession Protocol, after which Montenegro will begin attending NATO meetings as an invitee. Once all Allies ratified the Protocol, Montenegro will be able to accede to the Washington Treaty and become the 29th member of the Alliance.

On 02 December 2015 foreign ministers of the NATO member states invited Montenegro to join the alliance. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg underlined that the decision to have Montenegro join NATO is not directed against Russia.

Viktor Ozyorov, ?hairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, said on Dec. 2 that Russia will end its joint programs with Montenegro if it joins NATO. According to Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Maria Zakharova, NATO's decision to begin talks with Montenegro on it entering the North Atlantic bloc will greatly complicate relations between Russia and the alliance.

EU and NATO membership were the Governments's top strategic goals. The second strategic and equally important goal, but one attainable in a shorter time-span, is joining NATO, which would guarantee stability and security for pursuing other strategic goals. Montenegro believes NATO integration would speed up EU integration. By joining NATO and developing relations with this organisation in the future through the Partnership for Peace programme (PfP) and other relevant mechanisms, Montenegro will have an optimal framework for preventing potential threats, challenges, and risks for the stability of the country and the region. It will also promote an image of stable democracy, improve economic development through attracting FDI, and enable equal participation in decision-making. Together with other competent bodies, the Government will actively contribute to a broader consensus in the society for accepting this strategic commitment.

Montenegro began its work towards possible NATO membership with the launching of its participation in the Partnership for Peace program in November 2006. The Embassy received its first full-time resident Defense Attaché in the summer of 2007, and this will continue to build the USG-GOM bilateral defense relationship. The recent establishment of the State Partnership Program between Montenegro and Maine is already bearing fruit through military to military exchanges and the GOM, U.S. Embassy, and Maine officials were eager to expand the program to other sectors of government and civilian to civilian exchanges.

Montenegro was invited to Intensified Political Dialogue at the NATO Bucharest Summit in April 2008 and began a government-wide NATO Communications Strategy to increase support for membership among the population. Montenegro continued to make forward progress in establishing its nascent defense institutions and future military structure, which was reflected in the positive PARP assessment in early 2009. Montenegrin officials were further encouraged by the positive statements on Montenegro in the NATO communiqui in April 2009. They hoped to receive a MAP invitation at or before the December NATO ministerial, and initial soundings suggest that Allies believed this is achievable.

When NATO foreign ministers invited Montenegro to join the MAP in December 2009, they also assured Bosnia and Herzegovina that it will be able to join once it has achieved the necessary progress in its reform efforts. The Membership Action Plan (MAP) is a NATO programme of advice, assistance and practical support tailored to the individual needs of countries wishing to join the Alliance. Participation in the MAP does not prejudge any decision by the Alliance on future membership.

The NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow visited Montenegro on Thursday, 19 July 2012 to reaffirm NATO's open door policy. “My visit here today shows that we are firm in our commitment to support Montenegro’s aspiration to join our Alliance,” the Deputy Secretary General said. “Montenegro is an important partner for the Alliance and an important aspirant to NATO membership”.

Ambassador Vershbow congratulated Montenegro on the recent opening of accession talks with the European Union. "We believe that Euro-Atlantic integration remains the most effective way to bring lasting peace, stability and prosperity. Although NATO and EU procedures are distinct, they reinforce each other," he said. Ambassador Vershbow praised the ongoing commitment of the Montenegrin authorities to pursue political and defence reforms. "These efforts will be vital for future membership in NATO. I am convinced from my meetings today that Montenegro will continue to work hard to make further progress,” he said.

He thanked Montenegro for the contributions to the ISAF operation in Afghanistan and for the training support to the Afghan National Security Forces. During his visit, the Deputy Secretary General met with President Filip Vujanovic, Prime Minister Igor Lukšic, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nebojša Kaludjerovic and Minister of Defence Milica Pejanovic-Ðurišic. He also met with the President of the Parliament, Ranko Krivokapic.

At the meeting 10 July 2013 between the North Atlantic Council (NAC) and Montenegro in Brussels, Montenegro's Defence and Foreign Ministers, Milica Pejanovic-Ðurišic and Igor Lukšic, briefed the NAC on the progress Montenegro reached in the context of the implementation of the Third Annual National Programme of Montenegro (ANP), which ended the implementation of the third cycle of the Membership Action Plan (MAP). They also presented plans for future fulfillment of obligations that Montenegro faces in the integration process, with special emphasis on activities that the country has been taking regarding the key reform areas of defense and security, strengthening the rule of law and public support.

NATO representatives assessed that Montenegro has been recognised as a constructive actor and a factor of stability at the regional level and encouraged further reform in achieving the NATO membership standards. It was noted that the third cycle of MAP showed continuity in reforms in key areas and that Montenegro made tangible progress. NATO representatives praised Montenegro's contribution to global efforts in maintaining peace and stability by participating in the ISAF mission and confirmed the NATO's willingness to continue its open-door policy, emphasising the need to fulfill the necessary conditions for membership.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Ministers Lukšic and Pejanovic-Ðurišic met with NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow. The meeting voiced support for further NATO enlargement policy and Euro-Atlantic perspective based on individual approach to the assessment of readiness for membership.

A public opinion poll conducted by the Podgorica-based Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM) on 12 November 2015 showed respondents evenly split, with 36.5 percent in favor of joining NATO and 36.2 against -- an insignificant difference given the poll's margin of error. However, the number of Montenegrins saying they support NATO membership has steadily grown with time. A poll conducted by the same group in 2014 found 45 percent of respondents opposed joining the alliance.

Pro-Russian parties in Montenegro stoked unrest in Montenegro in an apparent bid to sabotage Podgorica's hopes of receiving an invitation from NATO next week to join the alliance. In November 2015, pro-Russian protesters led by the right-wing New Serbian Democracy (NOVA) party, took to the streets of Podgorica to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and either snap elections or an interim government. Djukanovic, who refused to step down, accused Russia and Serbia of instigating the turmoil in the run-up to the meeting of NATO's foreign ministers in Brussels on December 1-2.

In the middle of November the lower house of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, addressing the parliaments of Montenegro, the NATO countries and the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) countries, stated that it was against Montenegro joining NATO, emphasizing that "the bloc approach to guaranteeing security" and "including countries in military alliances" are political instruments from the Cold War. The Duma indicated that "the Milo Dukanovic regime's aspiration to join NATO contradicts the will of an overwhelming part of the country's population" and "deals a blow to traditionally friendly Russian-Montenegro relations."

On 23 November 2015, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Montenegro's entry into NATO would be "another blow to European security and to relations between Russia and NATO."