I am happy that Montenegro is a member of NATO, and I hope that Serbia and other countries in the Western Balkans will join it, said Wesley Clark, the former commander of the Alliance forces in Europe, in an interview for the Voice of America on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Montenegrin membership.
Clark points out that Montenegro is a sovereign country that will decide on its own contribution to NATO.
He assessed that the decision of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to accept Montenegro as a 29-member was very good, and Podgorica decided on that move in order to be part of the West.
"It is a way to show the principles, to redirect the culture from the 19th century and corruption in the Balkans to something that contributes more to personal freedoms and economic development. NATO is a security foundation that supports the European Union in this regard. I think it was good decision and I hope that the Montenegrin people will respect it", emphasized Clark.
He added that Montenegro, like other allies, contributes to the Alliance with its voice, attitude and relations with its neighbors.
"It has nothing to do with how many battalions you have. In NATO, every country is diplomatically equal and that makes it a permanent alliance. Being part of the West means that nations are sovereign. Montenegro is a sovereign country, it makes its own decisions and contributes to NATO in a way that is adapted to its size and location," believes the former commander-in-chief of NATO forces.
The Voice of America states that four years after the then head of Montenegrin diplomacy, Srđan Darmanović, handed over the instruments of ratification to the US State Department, which formally made Montenegro a member, there is a new government in Podgorica supported by the parliamentarians who were against membership.
The retired American general hopes that this will not affect cooperation with the Alliance.
"Foreign policy always reflects internal policy. I hope that the Montenegrin people will look into the future and see where their best interests lie. But in politics there is always a compromise. NATO is an alliance of democracies and every country has its own foreign policy. And in all countries, NATO is sometimes was a hot political topic. Even in the United States, where in the 1990s there was opposition to enlargement that ended in 2001. Those things happen when it comes to the internal politics of countries. NATO will persist despite whatever political problems are currently happening in Montenegro." , says Clark.
According to Clark, political stability is important for Montenegrin economic development.
"It is a beautiful country with a wonderful coast. There is no place like the Bay of Kotor anywhere in the world. And I see only good things in the future when it comes to the economic development of Montenegro. People see the coast and say it looks like the French Riviera, but better , bigger. It's just waiting for a development that requires political stability," Clark said.
He wants Serbia to join Montenegro in NATO one day, as well as the entire region of the Western Balkans.
"NATO is a consultative organization. When diplomats and the military work together on certain issues, it then affects other things and helps to solve other regional issues. When you speak a common language about common problems, you build trust between neighbors. That's important. That's how prevent war and conflict," concludes a former US military official.
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