NATO: Montenegro membership certain despite Russia objection

[geronl]

PLAVNICA, Montenegro (AP) - Montenegro's bid to join NATO is progressing smoothly despite strong opposition from Russia, the Western military alliance's No. 2 official said Thursday.

Rose Gottemoeller spoke in Montenegro where NATO is holding emergency exercise drills while Russian troops participate in war games in neighboring Serbia amid mounting tensions between Moscow and the West over Syria and a variety of other geopolitical issues.

Gottemoeller, on her first trip as deputy secretary-general, said that she expects that Montenegro will become a member next spring after all 28 NATO member states and the tiny Balkan country ratify the agreement in their parliaments.

"The accession process is moving forward smoothly and I expect that, pending all those parliamentary processes being complete ... you would become a member in the spring of 2017," Gottemoeller said. "So I don't see any problems with that."

Montenegro has been invited to join NATO despite strong opposition from its traditional Slavic ally Russia. With Montenegro joining, Russia would lose a strategic access to the Adriatic Sea, and Serbia would remain its only ally in the region.

http://www.wect.com/story/33620780/nato-montenegro-membership-certain-despite-russia-objection