Russia censures US over approving Montenegro’s NATO membership
Russia has censured a decision by the United States to approve the inclusion of Montenegro in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), saying the move would seriously endanger security and stability in the Balkans and entire Europe.
“We consider the course towards including Montenegro in NATO is deeply erroneous, goes fundamentally against the interests of people in this country and harms stability in the Balkans and in Europe as a whole,” Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, calling the decision a “deeply mistaken” move that creates divisions in Europe.
The statement said the US approval of the accession of Montenegro to NATO showed that the West was still on the path of confrontation with Russia.
It added US President Donald Trump’s decision to sign off on the accession on Tuesday “reflects the logic of confrontation on the European continent and creates new dividing lines.”
The ministry added that Montenegro was forced into the accession deal, saying NGOs that were “puppets” of the West did their utmost to “create the illusion of public support for the one-sided policy of the Montenegrin authorities.”
Relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated since a conflict erupted in eastern Ukraine three years ago. The US and its allies in Europe accuse Russia of having a hand in the conflict in Ukraine. Russia denies the allegation.
Western countries have also been angry over the rejoining of the Crimean Peninsula with Russia through a referendum in March 2014.
They have imposed several rounds of economic and military sanctions on Moscow over tensions in Ukraine.
Russia has always been wary of NATO’s expansion to the east to include states that Moscow considers to be in its sphere of influence.
Montenegro is mostly populated by Orthodox Slavs. Washington had previously accused Moscow of attempting to influence the results of the October elections in the Southeast European country.
A group of Serbian nationals were jailed in Montenegro last month on accusations of working for Russia to stage a coup during the elections.
Montenegro’s accession to NATO could be finalized by the end of this year. The military alliance has currently three members in the Balkans, namely Greece, Croatia and Albania.
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