US President Barack Obama congratulated Dusko Markovic on his appointment as Prime Minister.
Obama also said that the USA and Montenegro shared a partnership based not only on common interest but also common values.
“The USA is committed to improving both countries’ security and defence of their values. This is the main reason for the USA to support Montenegrin membership in NATO,” Obama said.
Obama noted that Montenegro’s efforts to strengthen the rule of law and to participate and provide support to the project of European integration were encouraging.
“He added that they were looking forward to new chapters of our partnership,” the government stated.
US ambassador to Montenegro Margaret Ann Uyehara was the one to convey Obama’s greeting to Markovic on Monday.
This gesture is important because it came only a day before the discussion in the Senate on Montenegro-NATO accession protocol.
The Senate’s Foreign Policy Committee unanimously approved the protocol ratification last week.
The committee’s chairman, republican Senator Bob Corker, said he was pleased because the committee supported Montenegrin bid to NATO and added he was hopeful for swift action in the full Senate.
The U.S. Constitution requires a two-thirds vote in the 100-member Senate for approval of new NATO members.
If the Senate supports Montenegro NATO bid, the US will become the 22nd out of 28 member states that have ratified the document.
Montenegro-NATO accession agreement has been ratified by Island, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Estonia, Latvia, Great Britain, Turkey, Poland, Lithuania, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway and Italy.
