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Montenegro’s government wins parliamentary vote of confidence

A total of 42 out of 81 MPs voted against the motion of no-confidence, with 41 votes needed to adopt the decision

Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic seen during a Government session AP Photo/Risto Bozovic

Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic seen during a Government session

© AP Photo/Risto Bozovic

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Russian diplomat reaffirms Russia’s stance against Montenegro’s NATO membership

BELGRADE, January 28. /TASS/. The government of Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic won the vote of confidence in the parliament on Wednesday night.

A total of 42 out of 81 MPs voted against the motion of no-confidence, with 41 votes needed to adopt the decision, the speaker of the parliament, Ranko Krivokapic, said.

The parliament’s session continued for almost 12 hours. The MPs broke the record of two previous days when the discussion of the issue lasted for seven hours.

Late last year, Montenegro was hit by a series of opposition protests against the policy of the prime minister and the country’s planned accession to NATO. The protesters urged Djukanovic to resign and called for establishing an interim government.

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The prime minister refused to step down saying there were no grounds for the move. Speaking in the parliament on Wednesday, he invited the opposition to join the government and "take part of the responsibility."

Since 2009, Montenegro has been carrying out a major propaganda campaign advertising NATO and the idea of the country’s membership in the alliance. Increasing the public support for the accession is one of the key goals set by Brussels for Podgorica.

NATO issued a formal invitation for Montenegro to join the alliance in early December 2015 and the accession talks could be concluded in July this year. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier said NATO’s offer for Montenegro to join the alliance will result in Russia’s response measures.

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