NATO's Stoltenberg had telephone conversation with PM Đukanović: It was honour to invite Montenegro to join the Alliance

Podgorica, Montenegro (3 December 2015) -- Prime Minister Milo Đukanović made a telephone call to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and thanked the Alliance and theSecretary-General himself for an exceptional support and contribution to extending NATO invitation at yesterday's ministerial meeting in Brussels. This is the biggest challenge for Montenegro in its recent history, and at the same time, the strongest inscentive to the government and society as a whole to continue with the reforms, he underscored.

"There is further dedicated work ahead of us, and, I believe, a prompt verification by the allies, which will qualify Montenegro for full-fledged membership," the Prime Minister noted, hopefull that NATO made the right decision not only for Montenegro, but also for the region and the Alliance.

Secretary-General Stoltenberg said it was an honour to invite Montenegro to join the Alliance. He praised our country for the reforms and progress in the rule of law and fight against corruption, noting that the decision was taken by 28 member states on the basis of consensus. 

Mr Stoltenberg underlined this does not mean the end of the journey, although the main phase has been completed. Recalling of the procedure that follows, he told Prime Minister Đukanović that Montenegro will be integrated as much as possible into the activities of the Alliance and take part in the summit in Warsaw as an invited country. He stressed that Montenegro needs to continue the reform momentum and build public support. NATO expects Montenegro to develop a programme for continuing reforms during the period of ratification, which will lead to the full membership in NATO, the Secretary-General concluded.