SOCHI - NATO steps to bring Montenegro into the alliance are affecting Russia's national interests and will not be left without retaliation, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.
“Yet another NATO attempt to change the military political landscape in Europe, especially in light of the Alliance’s course to restrain our country, inevitably affects Russian interests and forces us to react accordingly,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing in Sochi on May 19.
She was commenting on the signing of an accession protocol between NATO and Montenegro on May 19.
An Interfax correspondent reported earlier that the signing ceremony of the protocol took place at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic signed the protocol on behalf of his country.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier that after all the alliance member states ratify the protocol, Montenegro will become the alliance’s 29th member. Until then Montenegro will be present in NATO meetings as an observer, he said.
Djukanovic said earlier that Montenegro may become the alliance’s full-fledged member in mid-2017.
