13 February 2019 - North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, in Brussels said it is encouraging the Alliance has members such as Montenegro is, and emphasized that NATO enlargement within the Western Balkans has strengthened the Alliance.
“North Atlantic Treaty Organization enlargement within the Western Balkans strengthened the Alliance, and I am glad to see that. Also, NATO enlargement enabled stabilization of the Western Balkans and encouraged many countries to join the Alliance, such as Montenegro did, as well as North Macedonia which is to join NATO soon,” noted Jens Stoltenberg.
“There are numerous challenges and issues, but it’s encouraging to have Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Montenegro and soon north Macedonia as our member states,” concluded NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg.
Stoltenberg is looking forward to meeting NATO defense ministers tomorrow, including Montenegro defense minister, Predrag Bošković.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Srđan Darmanović is currently on his visit to the Federal Republic of Germany, and he also spoke at the Aspen Institute in Berlin on the topic of Montenegro's European Union and NATO integration.
"The past year was very successful for the Western Balkans in terms of integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures," the Minister said, pointing out that the only stable and safe Western Balkans contributes to the sustainability of Europe's development and security architecture.
He pointed to the need and importance of a strong presence of the European Union and the Alliance in the region as key drivers of reform processes.
Furthermore, Minister Darmanović met in the Bundestag with Chairman of the Committee of EU Affairs Gunther Krichbaum, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Norbert Röttgen, as well as members of the Parliamentary Group for South East Europe.
