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NATO Parliamentary Assembly calls for enlargement

Xinhua, May 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly held here issued a joint statement Monday underlining the importance of enlargement and recommending that before the end of the year the Alliance invite Montenegro to join.

The statement also noted that it supported Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, and Macedonia's approach, vowing to help all countries interested in NATO to meet the membership criteria.

Addressing the gathering, NATO Deputy General Secretary Alexander Vershbow said that cooperation between NATO and the European Union is more important than ever before.

NATO, he said, is capable of defending each and every one of its members from all threats, no matter where they may come from.

He charged that Russia was once again attempting to divide Europe into spheres of influence. Russia has been claiming that NATO is a threat to Russia, aimed at confrontation and not partnership, he said.

NATO needs to help Ukraine and others of Russia's neighbors who feel that their sovereignty is under threat, he added.

NATO established its Parliamentary Assembly in 1955. Members are delegated by the national parliaments of the member countries. NATO currently has 28 members. Representatives of 51 countries, including the 28 members and its partners, participated in the meeting. Endit