Montenegro makes it official by becoming the 29th member of Nato

Montenegro became Nato’s 29th member Monday just as the crucial Atlantic alliance appeared imperilled by US President Donald Trump’s ambiguous commitment to its mutual defence pledge.

Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanovic submitted the small Balkan state’s official accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in a ceremony at the US State Department, just 11 years after it became an independent nation.

The move came in the face of bitter opposition from Moscow, which says Nato’s steady expansion into the former communist states of eastern Europe threatens its own security and cannot go unchallenged.

Speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Dusko Markovic alluded to the country’s history under Moscow’s political influence when it was part of Yugoslavia, saying Nato accession signified the right to set its own future, under its own name.

“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,” Markovic said.

Speaking at the ceremony, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Montenegro’s accession is “good for the stability of the western Balkans. And it’s good for international peace and security.”