NATO diplomats say the decision to invite the Adriatic state of 650,000 people sends a message to Russia that Moscow does not have a veto on NATO's eastwards expansion, even if Georgia's membership bid has been complicated by its 2008 war with Russia. NATO foreign ministers welcomed tiny Montenegro into their fold on Wednesday in the alliance’s first expansion since 2009, defying Russian warnings that enlargement of the U.S.-led bloc further into the Balkans was a “provocation”.In a scripted session at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, Montenegro’s Foreign Minister Igor Luksic strode into the imposing conference hall to loud applause from …read more
Source: Pulse Nigeria