Roundup: Montenegro, Russia to top agenda at NATO ministerial meeting

The accession of Montenegro to NATO and strained relations with Russia will top the agenda at the upcoming NATO foreign ministers meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.

Previewing the meeting starts in Brussels on Thursday. Stoltenberg said NATO foreign ministers will take decisions in the next two days which will pave the way to the July Warsaw Summit.

He said that Allied Ministers will welcome Prime Minister Milo Dukanovic of Montenegro to sign the accession protocol.

"Following that ceremony, Montenegro will, as of tomorrow, participate in all NATO meetings as an observer," Stoltenberg said.

"Once all Allies have ratified the protocol, Montenegro will become the 29th member of the Alliance," he added.

In December last year, NATO foreign ministers invited Montenegro to begin accession talks to become the new member of the alliance.

"We will also talk about Russia, and our policy towards our eastern neighbors," Stoltenberg said, adding "our approach to Russia combines strong defense and deterrence with dialogue."

The meeting agenda also includes discussions on defense capacity-building cooperation with NATO partner countries, NATO-EU cooperation and support for Afghanistan. Endit