On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump approved the accession of Montenegro to NATO. The Former Yugoslavian Republic becomes the 29th member of the alliance, BBC reports.
“Today, President Donald Trump signed the document on the ratification of the Protocol on the Accession of Montenegro to the North Atlantic Alliance”, according to the statement of the White House.
The signing of the document coincided with the visit of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Moscow. Russia opposes NATO expansion.
In late March, US Senate ratified the agreement on NATO expansion and accession of Montenegro to the alliance by an overwhelming majority of votes – 97 against 2.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asked senators to approve the accession of Montenegro to NATO – until the summit of presidents of alliance member countries, which will take place in late May in Brussels.
Montenegro separated from Serbia as per the results of the referendum in 2006. In 2014, it joined EU sanctions against Russia, imposed after the annexation of the Crimea and the beginning of the military conflict at the east of Ukraine, and from 2015, it carried on negotiations on the accession to NATO.
The negotiations ended in May 2016, 25 alliance member countries already approved the decision on the admission of Montenegro to NATO
