Montenegro celebrates the fifth anniversary of NATO membership with a dose of concern for world peace

Montenegro marks five years since NATO membership. On this occasion, President Milo Djukanovic said that Montenegro is proud of its contribution to the protection of common values.

“We are grateful to our friends, partners and allies for their support in developing our capabilities and achieving the standards of a responsible NATO member,” Djukanovic wrote on Twitter.

NATO, in co-operation with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has prepared a video on the occasion of Montenegro’s five years of NATO membership.

“For Montenegro, a country in the troubled Balkans, membership in the Alliance means guaranteeing its security, as well as its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“Five years ago, we entered the society of modern democracies, after a century of Montenegro disappearing from the map and 12 years after the restoration of statehood,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Rasko Konjevic. He added that the five years of membership were an opportunity to “reaffirm our determination to contribute, together with our allies within the Alliance, to international peace and stability and to fight for a fairer world.”

Konjevic stressed that Montenegro’s commitment to becoming part of the NATO family with the support of other members was a responsible state policy, which we saw as a guarantee of a secure future for future generations.

“Today, after the brutal occupation of the Russian Federation in a sovereign European country, it is more visible than ever. Therefore, Montenegro celebrates this jubilee with a dose of fear justified for world peace and with thoughts of a brave and freedom-loving people, in the hope that we will celebrate every other anniversary in a more stable and peaceful geopolitical environment,” Konjevic concluded.

Foreign Minister Ranko Krivokapic said that five years in Montenegro’s millennium are only a moment, but also the crown of Montenegro’s victory on the right side of history.

“We have brought our ship through strong Balkan storms to a safe western port. We maintain peace and security side by side, alike in the most powerful Defense Alliance in history. Solidarity, assistance, care in the war of the brave, heroic Ukraine shows us what these tragic images are and confirmation of our historic achievement of NATO membership. Freedom has never had a price for us and that is why Montenegro is eternal,” he said.

On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Montenegro’s NATO membership, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Rasko Konjevic and Foreign Minister Ranko Krivokapic will hold an official reception.

The reception is scheduled for Monday, June 6, in front of the Petrovic Palace in Podgorica, starting at 20:00.

The Montenegrin Foreign Minister will not celebrate Russia Day

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ranko Krivokapic, and no representative of that ministry will take part in the reception organized by the Ambassador of that country to Montenegro, Vladislav Maslenikov, on the occasion of Russia Day on June 9, Podgorica’s portal CDM has learned.

The reason for such a decision, as it is said, is the Russian aggression against Ukraine, which started on February 24 this year.

Russia celebrates its official declaration of state sovereignty on June 12.