Montenegro’s membership in NATO represents a historic success and the future of the Western Balkans is in the West, US Vice President Mike Pence said at today’s press conference.
“It is a great honour to be the first Vice President of the United States to visit this beautiful country. I convey President Donald Trump’s greetings to you. We believe that joining NATO only 10 years after restoring independence is a historic success. The US has no ‘small’ allies and all its allies are equally important. We believe that the future of the Western Balkans is in the West and I am looking forward to building cooperation with the countries of the region,” Pence said.
Prime Minister Dusko Markovic said that today is a great day for Montenegro and the region, because of the US Vice President Mike Pence’s visit.
Markovic believes that it is a confirmation that dreams can come true, “and even more – a confirmation that the hard, diligent and dedicated work produces results”.
As he said, Montenegro is an example for this.
The PM assessed that the strategic partnership of the two countries was crowned on 5 June, when Montenegro became a full member of NATO.
“We have tied our destiny to the values promoted and defended by this alliance. Today is a confirmation that there are big and small in the international community only when it comes to the size and the size of a country, but not in terms of belonging to the ideals,” Markovic pointed out.
He thanked Pence for confirming this truth by coming to Montenegro.
“Thank you for fulfilling the promises you gave me during our first encounter in Washington just two months ago,” Markovic added.
The Prime Minister is convinced that the talks will further strengthen the determination of the two countries to foster their cooperation, primarily in terms of economy.
“I expect a concrete exchange of views between the leaders of the Adriatic Charter member states,” Markovic said.
Pence will attend the Adriatic Charter Summit today. It has been the most important international gathering held in our country so far. It is scheduled for 1pm in the Hilton hotel in Podgorica.
At the invitation of Markovic and his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev, PMs of Croatia, Albania and Serbia, Andrej Plenkovic, Edi Rama and Ana Brnabic, the chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia-Herzegovina Denis Zvizdic and Kosovo President Hashim Thaci will participate in the summit. Macedonia is the presiding country of the charter.
Us Vice President began his first, historic visit to our country yesterday. He arrived at the Podgorica airport at about 5pm. Prime Minister Markovic greeted him with the greatest honours.
The ceremony involved greeting the dignitaries, greeting US Vice President’s wife with a bouquet of flowers, playing of the US and Montenegrin anthems, a review of a military honour guard of the Montenegrin Armed Forces and saluting the flag of Montenegro.
PM Markovic hosted a formal dinner for the US Vice President.
Montenegro plays a leading role in defending the stability and security of the Western Balkan region. The country’s courage amid Russian pressure inspires the world, Pence said during the dinner.
Security measures in Podgorica have been heightened during Pence’s visit.
The US Vice President is visiting the countries that used to be under strong Russian influence until recently. Those countries practically escaped to be protected under the auspices of the West and NATO.
