The example of Montenegro and North Macedonia shows that NATO's door remains open, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
"Two years ago, we accepted Montenegro - Montenegro became the 29th member of the Alliance, and at the beginning of next year or in a few months, North Macedonia will also become a member. This shows that NATO's door remains open. It is up to the NATO allies and the applicant country to decide when some country can become a member. Russia, or any other country, has no part in that, because it is the sovereign right of each country to decide its own path, including in what kind of security arrangement it wants to participate," Stoltenberg said in a speech at Columbia University.
Montenegro became a member of NATO in June 2017.
Stoltenberg added that NATO supports Ukraine, cooperates with Kiev and hopes that one day that country will become part of the alliance.
Stoltenberg participated in the General Assembly of the United Nations, and he used his visit to the United States to visit the West Point Military Academy and speak at Columbia University.
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