On Senate Floor, Shaheen Calls on Senate to Approve Montenegro’s Accession to NATO
**Shaheen: “By quickly approving the resolution on accession, the United States Senate can demonstrate that it stands firmly with Montenegro, and that we will not allow Putin to bully European states with impunity”**
(Washington, DC) — U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on European Affairs, delivered remarks on the Senate floor last night applauding yesterday’s vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to advance consideration of Montenegro’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to the full Senate. Shaheen also urged the Senate to vote to ratify the resolution of accession before the 114th Congress concludes.
Calling NATO “the most ambitious and successful alliance in history,” Shaheen told her colleagues that “Montenegro’s membership would reaffirm that NATO’s door remains open to aspirant nations that share the values of all NATO members and stand ready to contribute to NATO operations.”
Shaheen drew attention to the Russian attempts to thwart Montenegro’s efforts to join the defensive Alliance, citing a Russian-backed plot in October to overthrow Montenegro’s cabinet and assassinate its Prime Minister. “By quickly approving the resolution on accession, the United States Senate can demonstrate that it stands firmly with Montenegro, and that we will not allow Putin to bully European states with impunity,” Shaheen stated.
Shaheen concluded, “The United States has always stood strong for freedom and democracy in Europe. It is time, now, to stand strong for freedom and democracy in Montenegro.”
