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Russia slams protocol on Montenegro’s entry to NATO as 'inert' US policy

The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that drawing Montenegro into NATO comes without taking into account the real public opinion of this Balkan country

MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. Russia believes that US President Donald Trump’s signing a protocol on Montenegro’s joining NATO shows that US policy is inert, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"We view this step as an example of Washington’s inert policy, reflecting the logic of confrontation on the European continent and the creation of new dividing lines," the ministry stressed. "We state that drawing Montenegro into NATO comes without taking into account the real public opinion of this Balkan country."

The ministry also said millions of dollars are earmarked to support pro-NATO puppet NGOs in an attempt to "create the illusion of broad public support for the one-sided line of Montenegro’s leadership." There is also doubt in the US that this step could be beneficial to the alliance and European security.

Read also

US Senate votes overwhelmingly in favor of Montenegro’s accession to NATO

"We view the narrative on Montenegro’s accession to NATO as deeply erroneous. Moreover, it contradicts the core interests of the country’s population and impairs stability in the Balkans and in Europe overall," the statement reads.

On April 11, US President Donald Trump signed the ratification documents for Montenegro’s NATO membership. The US Senate approved Montenegro’s entry into the alliance late last month.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, 12 countries became NATO members: Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic in 1999, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Estonia in 2004, and Albania and Croatia in 2009.

Currently, NATO consists of 28 countries and it continues to pursue its so-called "open door policy." Macedonia is among the candidates to join NATO. In 2008, at a NATO summit in Romania’s capital of Bucharest a decision was made on launching a program to take Georgia and Ukraine into the bloc.

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