PODGORICA – General Phil Breedlove, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, spent time in Montenegro this week for the first time since NATO Foreign Ministers unanimously agreed to invite Montenegro to begin accession talks to become the twenty-ninth member of the Alliance.
General Breedlove met with several senior leaders to include Filip Vujanovic, President of Montenegro, Ranko Krivokapic, President of the Parliament, Milo Djukanovic, Prime Minister and Montenegrin Army Chief of Staff Dragan Samardzic to discuss moving forward in the accession process.
“We are fully committed to the accession of Montenegro and look forward to them becoming a part of the Alliance,” said General Breedlove. “The soldiers have not only successfully adopted the NATO standards but have considerably improved their capabilities which is why I am very confident that Montenegro can become a full-fledged member of NATO.”
The SACEUR underlined the positive and close cooperation needed from NATO member states for the stabilization of Europe and reconfirmed Montenegro’s selection based on a result of a high level of responsibility, professionalism and dedication.
Montenegro was invited to begin accession talks to become the twenty-ninth member of the Alliance. It is not possible to say how long the whole process will take. For the last NATO enlargement it took about one year.