Washington: Montenegro officially joined NATO on Monday, just as the crucial Atlantic alliance appeared imperiled by US President Donald Trump's ambiguous commitment to its mutual defense pledge.

Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanovic submitted Montenegro's official accession papers in a ceremony at the US State Department, making the small Balkan State the 29th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. </s> The FINANCIAL -- Montenegro became NATO’s newest member on Monday (5 June 2017), upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the US State Department in Washington DC.

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 remains open.

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Duško Marković and by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro Srdan Darmanovic and was hosted by the United States Undersecretary for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon, according to NATO.

"Today, Montenegro joins NATO with a seat at the table as an equal, with an equal voice in shaping our Alliance, and its independence guaranteed," the Secretary General said. Mr. Stoltenberg noted that NATO will benefit from Montenegro’s insight into the Western Balkans "and the professionalism, bravery and dedication of its men and women in uniform". He stressed that NATO’s collective pledge, Article 5, has kept Allies safe for almost seven decades.

Allied Foreign Ministers signed Montenegro's Accession Protocol in May 2016, after which all 28 national parliaments voted to ratify Montenegro's membership. A flag-raising ceremony for Montenegro will take place at NATO Headquarters on 7 June 2017.

Today marks NATO's first enlargement since 1 April 2009, when Albania and Croatia joined the Alliance. </s> NATO officially welcomed Montenegro as its 29th member on Monday during a ceremony at the US State Department in Washington.

Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanović presented US State Department undersecretary Thomas Shannon with Montenegro's instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty.

Montenegro was formally invited to join the alliance in 2015 and despite awaiting its formal acceptance, participated as a full member during the NATO leaders meeting in Brussels last month.

Monday's event comes on the heels of President Donald Trump's controversial appearance at that meeting of world leaders, where he lectured fellow heads of state over their defense spending and failed to reaffirm US commitment to Article 5 of the treaty -- a key provision that outlines the principle of collective defense.

While Trump proclaimed the trip a "great success for America," European leaders have been critical of Trump's remarks, as well as his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, seeing the President's actions as signs the US is ceding its global leadership role in favor of an inward turn.

On Monday, however, acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs John Heffern tried to strike a different tone in his remarks to the crowd of ambassadors and foreign officials, directly referencing the importance of Article 5 and collective defense. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg echoed Heffern's comments on the alliance's commitment to Article 5. During last month's NATO meeting in Brussels, Trump also drew criticism after he was seen pushing aside Markovic during a photo opportunity. While Markovic was in attendance for Monday's ceremony, Trump was not. </s> WASHINGTON -- Montenegro officially became the 29th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at a ceremony in Washington on June 5.

Prime Minister Dusko Markovic officially handed over Montenegro’s accession instrument at the ceremony in the State Department's Treaty Room in the U.S. capital.

Markovic said his country's membership was an indication that "never again will anyone else decide our fate behind our back as it was in the past."

U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon, who attended the ceremony, said Montenegro had asserted "its right to choose its alliances openly even in the face of concerted foreign pressure."

The small Balkan country joins at a time when the alliance created to counter Soviet aggression looks to curb Russian attempts to increase its influence in Eastern Europe.

Montenegro was previously a close ally of Russia, but its decision to join NATO has outraged Moscow.

Nestled on the Adriatic Sea between Croatia and Albania, the tiny country and its $69 million annual defense budget may appear to have little military value.

Its army of some 2,000 soldiers will barely make a ripple in NATO forces, but its 293-kilometer coastline is a strategic parcel of real estate -- the penultimate piece in the Adriatic puzzle.

With the former Yugoslav republic securely in the fold, NATO will control the entire coast of the Adriatic, from the heel of Italy's boot to the rugged shores of Greece, except for a 20-kilometer stretch of land held by Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Montenegro's accession "reaffirms to other aspirants that NATO’s door remains open to those countries willing and able to make the reforms necessary to meet NATO’s high standards, and to accept the risks, responsibilities, as well as benefits of membership," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

Montenegro’s accession also marks the end of a long and often arduous road to membership that the Kremlin has repeatedly tried to derail.

Moscow has said in various contexts that Podgorica's NATO course runs counter to hundreds of years of "fraternal relations" between the two mostly Slavic, Orthodox Christian nations.

Russia also wields considerable economic power, as it is the largest investor in the Balkan country and an estimated 7,000 Russian nationals permanently reside in the nation of about 620,000.

Russians own about 40 percent of the country's desirable Adriatic Sea coast and Russian tourists account for as much as one-third of overnight visits in Montenegro.

Despite all its saber rattling, analysts said it is unlikely Moscow will take any real action over Montenegro’s accession.

"The Kremlin isn't ready to commit significant resources to keep Montenegro out of the U.S. orbit," said Maksim Samorukov, an analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center.

Montenegro's flag is to fly over NATO headquarters in Brussels for the first time on June 7. </s> Montenegro Joins NATO, First New Member in a Decade </s> Montenegro has officially become the latest member of NATO despite internal opposition, after a ceremony in Washington, DC.On Monday, a delegation led by Markovic went to the US State Department ceremony hosted by Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon, officially inaugurating the small Balkan country into the bloc. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was also in attendance.During his stay in Washington, Markovic is also expected to meet with US Vice President Mike Pence."As President Trump has said, the NATO Alliance has been the bulwark of international peace and security for nearly 70 years," the US State Department said in a statement Friday."This event represents the culmination of many years of effort on behalf of the government and people of Montenegro to join the Euro-Atlantic community of nations.""Montenegro's NATO membership will support greater integration, democratic reform, trade, security, and stability with all of its neighbors. Montenegro's accession also reaffirms to other aspirants that NATO's door remains open to those countries willing and able to make the reforms necessary to meet NATO's high standards, and to accept the risks, responsibilities as well as benefits of membership."Another ceremony is due to be held on Wednesday in Brussels, where the Montenegrin flag will join the 28 others flying over the NATO headquarters. Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic is due to attend, along with Secretary-General Stoltenberg.On April 28, Montenegrin MPs voted 46-0 to become the 29th member of NATO. However, 35 opposition lawmakers - almost half of the country's MPs - boycotted the parliamentary session, while hundreds of protesters gathered outside the parliament building before the vote to express their discontent with accession.The protesters chanted "Treason" and "Thieves" and held a banner that read, "NATO murderers, your hands are bloody!" They also burned a NATO flag before peacefully dispersing.Montenegrins were rather divided over accession into NATO. A survey carried out in December 2016 by the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM) found that should a referendum on joining the military bloc be held in the country, 39.5 percent would vote for joining and 39.7 percent against.Montenegro's contribution to NATO will be relatively small: It has a mere 1,950 soldiers, 13 helicopters, two frigates and three patrol ships, and its defense budget is €50 million, or 1.7 percent of its GDP - less than the 2 percent target set by NATO and reiterated by US President Donald Trump.Critics in the US have questioned what benefits a country with such a small military will bring to NATO. However, the country's strategic position will give the alliance full control over the Adriatic Sea, as other Adriatic countries Albania, Croatia, and Italy are already long-time NATO members.Russia, by far the biggest foreign investor in the country, has warned that Montenegro's accession to NATO will diminish stability in the Balkans and the rest of Europe."The reasons for Montenegro to enter the alliance are unclear. Is someone threatening it?" President Vladimir Putin said last June at the 2016 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, also pointing to "the bloc's blatant disregard of our position." </s> Though the deal has effectively been done for weeks, the tiny Balkan nation of Montenegro formally joined NATO today, becoming the alliance’s 29th member, and its first new member in nearly a decade. Croatia and Albania were the last NATO members to join, on April 1 of 2009.

Montenegro’s accession was a controversial one, as the nation is domestically split heavily over the issue, with the nation’s historic ties and heavy financial ties to Russia making many fear that they risk losing much by joining NATO. NATO’s attack on them during the Kosovo War is also still a sore spot for many.

Montenegro’s Prime Minister made his first appearance at a NATO event last month, and was immediately involved in a highly publicized incident, in which President Trump shoved him out of the way during his own arrival at the meeting.

The US was the last of the NATO nations to grant Montenegro’s accession, doing so earlier this year. the State Department praised the move today, insisting that the US remains committed to the NATO alliance, as well as the principle of collective defense among alliance members.
• Netanyahu: Israel Must Keep Military Control of Jordan Valley - June 5th, 2017
• Qatar's Tensions With GCC Took Root During the Arab Spring - June 5th, 2017 </s> Montenegro has formally joined NATO, with U.S. and Montenegrin officials sending subtle messages to Russia and the alliance’s chief trying to allay concerns about the U.S. commitment to the alliance.

Montenegrin Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanovic handed over the Balkan nation’s accession papers in a ceremony at the State Department’s ornate Treaty Room on June 5, making the country the 29th member of the North Atlantic alliance.

The State Department’s third-highest official, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon, said that Montenegro had asserted "its sovereign right to choose its own alliances even in the face of concerted foreign pressure."

Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, who also attended the event in Washington, alluded to his country’s past plight at the hands of larger powers.

"It is a historic event for a country and a nation which endured enormous sacrifices in the 19th and 20th centuries in order to defend their right to a free life, the right to decide our own future, recognized by the world under our own name, and with our own national symbols," Markovic said.

"We are celebrating today the fact that it will never happen again that someone else decides instead of us and our state behind our back, as was the case in the past,” he added.

Montenegrin membership comes at a time when the alliance is showing strains among its members, particularly in the face of mixed messages from U.S. President Donald Trump.

During his recent trip to Europe, Trump scolded allies for not meeting pledges for defense spending, and repeated his position that Washington was shouldering too much of the burden.

What particularly worried allies, however, was Trump’s lack of explicit endorsement of the alliance’s most important clause, known as Article Five. That clause is a “one-for-all, all-for-one” provision that obligates all members to come to the defense of any other member who is attacked.

It has only been invoked once in the alliance’s nearly 70-year history: after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.

Politico reported on June 5 that the omission of Article Five from Trump’s speech caught his top national security officials off-guard, potentially signaling confusion or internal clash among White House officials.

Trump also caused a minor stir in Brussels last month when he appeared to push Markovic aside during a group photo for NATO leaders.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg alluded to the ongoing disputes between the Trump administration and its European allies. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in particular, has signaled that any U.S. pull back meant that Europe must become more united.

"We are an alliance of democracies and we have, at times, different political perspectives. But together, we rise above those differences and unite around a common purpose: to stand with each other, to protect each other, and -- if necessary -- to fight to defend each other," he said during the ceremony.

For Montenegro, whose population is mostly Orthodox Christian, alliance membership offers protection from Russia, who experts believe has stepped up efforts to destabilize nations in the Western Balkans.

Montenegrin officials have charged 14 people in connection with an alleged Russia-backed plot to take over parliament during the October 2016 parliamentary elections and assassinate then-Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic.

In February, Markovic called out Russia and its allies within the country, warning of unrest and saying they should stop trying to interfere.

Russia has made no secret of its opposition to NATO membership. Moscow has said that Podgorica's NATO course runs counter to hundreds of years of "fraternal relations" between the two mostly Slavic, Orthodox Christian nations.

Russia wields considerable economic power, as it is the largest investor and an estimated 7,000 Russian nationals permanently reside in the nation of about 620,000.

Russians also own about 40 percent of the country's desirable Adriatic Sea coast and Russian tourists account for as much as a third of overnight visits in Montenegro.

"The anti-Russian hysteria that continues in Montenegro has only caused regret," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement released ahead of the ceremony. "In the light of the hostile line of Montenegrin authorities, the Russian side reserves the right to take retaliatory measures on the basis of reciprocity. In politics, as in physics, every action generates a reaction."

Still, analysts said it is unlikely Moscow will take any real action over Montenegro’s accession.

“The Kremlin isn't ready to commit significant resources to keep Montenegro out of the U.S. orbit,” said Maksim Samorukov, an analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center.

RFE/RL’s Balkan Service contributed to this report. </s> Montenegro’s parliament ratified the membership agreement with NATO on Friday, taking the former Yugoslav republic a step closer to becoming the 29th member of the alliance despite protests over its 1999 bombing campaign.

Outside the parliament, where 46 of 81 deputies voted in favour of the agreement, several hundred anti-NATO supporters burned the NATO flag and demand a referendum on membership.

Montenegro’s accession would mark the first expansion of NATO ranks into ex-Communist eastern Europe since its neighbours Albania and Croatia joined in 2009, and the first since relations between Russia and the West hit a post-Cold War low with the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

“NATO membership will provide a safer and better life for all citizens in Montenegro,” Prime Minister Dusko Markovic told the parliament session, held in the town of Cetinje, the royal seat of the mediaeval state. </s> Montenegro's parliament is expected to ratify a pact on NATO membership for the Balkan country, marking a historic turn toward the West amid protests from traditional ally Russia and the country's pro-Russian political opposition.

Lawmakers were set to convene at 2 p.m. local time (1200 GMT/UTC) to ratify the accession treaty with the Western military alliance. Opposition parties said they would boycott the session.

Several hundred opposition supporters gathered outside parliament before the session, some chanting "Treason!" and "Thieves!" as lawmakers from the ruling pro-NATO coalition arrived for the vote. A banner read, "NATO murderers, your hands are bloody!"

The government has urged lawmakers to approve the admission protocol. Officials have said that joining NATO will bring stability and economic benefits for the former Yugoslav republic of 645,000.

"In the current geopolitical environment, Montenegro must rationally look at all options and make a decision that will best protect its national, security, and economic interests," the government has said.

Montenegro is expected to become a full-fledged member of the alliance by the time of the NATO summit on May 25.

Two NATO countries -- Spain and the Netherlands -- must give final approval to Montenegro's accession before it can become NATO's 29th member.

Spain's upper house of parliament still has to ratify the move. The Dutch Senate approved it on March 23, but the decision will not be official until a two-month period for a potential referendum expires.

Russia has been angered by mostly Slavic, Orthodox Christian Montenegro's bid to join NATO.

Earlier this month, Montenegrin prosecutors formally charged 14 people, including two Russians and two opposition leaders, with plotting to overthrow the government last year.

A Podgorica court on April 13 said lawmakers Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic of the Democratic Front, two Russians, nine Serbian citizens, and one other Montenegrin were charged with "creating a criminal organization."

The Russians were also charged with "terrorism."

The court will decide on May 5 whether to accept the indictments.

Montenegrin officials allege that Serbian and Russian nationalists plotted to take over parliament during the October 2016 parliamentary elections, assassinate then-Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, and install a pro-Russian leadership to halt Montenegro's bid to join NATO.

Prosecutors said the Russians, identified as Eduard Shishmakov and Vladimir Popov, were based in Serbia and were allowed by authorities there to return to Russia. They remain at large.

Accused lawmaker Mandic on April 13 called the charges "a staged political process against the opposition."

Montenegro's special prosecutor has said "Russian state bodies" were involved in the alleged coup, something Russia denies.

With reporting by Reuters, dpa, and AP
Montenegro officially joins NATO as its 29th member at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.