In an interview with the MINA news agency, Mr Stoltenberg said that public opinion polls were still uncertain, but they were the best indicator of the citizens’ attitude.
“We have seen various results of various studies, but a trend that I welcome is mostly the same -increased support of those who are for joining NATO, as well as decreasing number of those who are against. In the end, Montenegro should choose the way of deciding on the NATO membership. The Parliament is elected by the people and the Parliament has the mandate to make the final decision on behalf of those who have elected it,” he said.
Mr Stoltenberg said he saw growth in support among citizens.
“In addition, I have seen strong support in the Parliament during the adoption of the Resolution on Integration into NATO. I see increasing support in Montenegro and this is an area which is important for making a final decision,” he said.
Mr Stoltenberg said that Montenegro had made progress and welcomed it.
“I welcome the progress that we saw when we visited Montenegro in June and am looking forward to seeing even more now. There are two areas that are particularly important. One is the rule of law – fight against corruption, an independent judiciary – and results are required in it. Many of the laws have been adopted and institutions established, but they need to operate. Public support represents another area which the allies are focused in. When it comes to it, we see that things are going in the right direction, but it is important for Montenegro to continue to be focused on this area,” Mr Stoltenberg said.
He said that his message to officials and representatives of opposition parties would be that Montenegro was to decide whether it wants to join the Alliance.
“Montenegro decides on reforms, but in order to become a NATO member state, it must meet the standards. Therefore the reforms are important. We have seen progress and stressed the importance of Montenegro to be focused on continuing implementation of reforms,” Mr Stoltenberg said.
He said that on the examples of countries that have become members, strengthening of democracy, greater security and more secure lives of citizens could be seen.
“Security is important itself, as well as peace and stability, but in addition, security is crucial for establishing stability, which is important for economic development and prosperity. We have seen it in other countries – that NATO membership was important for stability and contribution to economic progress,” said Mr Stoltenberg.
He believes that the message from the White House was a positive statement, which represented a commendation for Montenegro’s progress, as well as an expression of support to Montenegro towards membership.
“But the message was also something that was conditioned by continuing reforms, and the United States, as well as other Allies, emphasised the importance of the rule of law and public support. This a conditional support and the U.S.A. and other Allies will make final assessment and decision in December,” said Mr Stoltenberg.
As he said, he has seen growing support among Allies to Montenegro’s membership in NATO and inviting Montenegro to join the Alliance but, as he said, the decision was still pending and the final decision would be made in December.
“Today and tomorrow we are here to get firsthand impression about the progress of Montenegro and it will be taken into account, it will be part of the information that we need and we will make a decision in December,” Mr Stoltenberg said.
As he said, NATO represents an organisation based on consensus and that is a very good thing, particularly for those countries that are not the largest.
“No decision will be made without consensus. All countries have the same rights and opportunities, they are sitting at the same table. Since the decisions are made by consensus, small countries can also say a lot,” Mr Stoltenberg said.
