Montenegro’s Foreign Ministry: Russia interfered in country’s affairs
Montenegro’s Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanović said that Russia “strongly interfered in the internal affairs” of the country and tried to interfere with the government’s intentions to join NATO, reports the broadcast network RTCG.
“Russia openly interfered in our internal political matters, which, of course, we do not at all approve of. Over the past two or three years, Russia has been pursuing a policy that is opposed to the enlargement of NATO. We decided that we would determine the policies for our country ourselves, and we were surprised at how much Russia intervened and, of course, we defended ourselves,” the television station reported the minister as saying.
On May 19, 2016, member nations of NATO signed a protocol on the entry of Montenegro into the alliance. The country's parliament approved the measure on the republic becoming a member of NATO.
After the parliament's decision to join NATO, the President of Montenegro, Filip Vujanovic, said that in this way the country has secured an ongoing existence.