Podgorica, (MINA) – By sending two members of the Armed Forces of Montenegro (VCG) to the NATO mission in Iraq, Montenegro remains committed to the NATO values, and shows will to actively contribute to NATO, said president of the Atlantic Council of Montenegro, Savo Kentera.
The Defense and Security Council has proposed sending two members of VCG to perform garrison jobs in the mission.
“In this manner we would show that we remain committed to the NATO values, that we are not a member only on paper, and how much and in which manner, in accordance to our capacities, we can contribute to NATO alliance”, Kentera told Mina.
This decision was welcomed by Secretary General of the Alliance Jens Stoltenberg, and Kentera claims that all NATO member states will also welcome it.
“If we, as the smallest and the youngest NATO member, expect the Alliance and its member states to defend us and our interests, than it is normal to expect that we should offer something to the Alliance. The minimum we can do at this moment is deploying two garrison officers and I believe that it is useful”, Kentera stressed out.
“This is not a life-threatening mission. These men are going to the mission to transfere their knowledge and train Iraqi forces about the experiences and knowledge we have”, said he.
Commenting on the Draft new Defense Strategy that the government passed recently, Kentera pointed out that the old Strategy was adopted ten years ago and that it was time to change it, since Montenegro became a NATO member in the meantime.
He stressed out that new security threats and challenges have been defined and identified.
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