North Atlantic Treaty Organisation chief says Russian Federation interference would only boost Montenegro chances of joining

Any attempt by Russian Federation to interfere in Montenegro’s bid to join North Atlantic Treaty Organisation would only boost the country’s chances of membership.

Stoltenberg added that “no one else has the right to intervene or to interfere with that decision”.

Pointing out that it is the alliance’s basic principle to respect decisions of individual sovereign states, Stoltenberg said that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation “respects a country’s wish not to join”.

“Today I am here as a part of a fresh new start in relations between North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Serbia”, said Stoltenberg, adding that he was aware of “sensitivities in Serbia towards the alliance”.

The air strikes marked NATO’s first-ever major bombing campaign in Europe and remain deeply etched in the memory of Serbians despite efforts by the government to move on.

After meeting with Vucic, Stoltenberg announced that the air security zone established since the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation bombing of Serbia in 1999 along the administrative line with Kosovo would, as of Friday, be fully relaxed.

Vucic expressed his readiness to cooperate with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, despite disagreements over the blame for the 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia and bad relations in the past.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced here on Friday that restrictions over Serbia’s airspace had been lifted, marking a new chapter in relations between the military alliance and Serbia.

Prime Minister Vucic said that KFOR has made a crucial contribution to protecting Serbian churches and monasteries, but also “represents the key of stability also in northern Kosovo and Metohija precisely because of the contract that was signed in Brussels”.