Failed Coup in Montenegro Argument in Favor of Joining NATO - Stoltenberg

© REUTERS / Francois LenoirNATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg holds up a ceremonial hammer at the start of a NATO-Georgia defence ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 16, 2017.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg holds up a ceremonial hammer at the start of a NATO-Georgia defence ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 16, 2017. - Sputnik International
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A failed attempt to stage a coup in Montenegro serves as an argument for the country to join NATO, not against it, as every nation can choose a security arrangement for itself, the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On October 16, 2015, on the parliamentary elections day in Montenegro, 20 people were detained and 14 of them arrested for planning to conduct attacks targeting both civilian population and high-ranking statesmen and to seize the parliament's building. In November, a Montenegrin prosecutor was quoted by the media as alleging that "nationalists from Russia" planned to overthrow a government.

Montenegrin police officers are engulfed in smoke and flames as opposition supporters hurled torches on them during a protest in front of the Parliament building in Podgorica, Montenegro Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. Police fired tear gas at opposition supporters who hurled fire bombs and torches to demand the resignation Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic's government which hopes to steer the Balkan country toward NATO membership later this year - Sputnik International
Russia Possibly Behind Montenegro Coup Attempt - UK Foreign Minister

"We have seen the failed coup attempt last fall and the fact that Russian citizens were involved in that attempt. But for me, this is not an argument against Montenegro joining NATO. For me, this is an argument in favor… It is a sovereign right of every nation to… decide which path it wants to choose, including what kind of security arrangements they want to be part of," Stoltenberg said at a press conference.

A man is escorted by Montenegrin police officers to the special court in Podgorica on October 16, 2016 - Sputnik International
Moscow Processes Montenegro's Request in Probing Coup Attempt

In December 2016, Montenegro put two Russian nationals — Vladimir Popov and Eduard Shirokov — and several Serbian nationals on the Interpol wanted list on suspicion of plotting the coup. The special prosecutor's office said it suspected Shirokov of planning the assassination of Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic. According to media reports, the majority of the detainees have admitted their guilt in planning the coup. In February, The Telegraph newspaper reported that senior sources in the UK government suspected Russian intelligence of plotting the coup in Montenegro and the assassination of Djukanovic.

Moscow has refuted the accusations, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling them unsubstantiated and irresponsible. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the accusations of Russia's alleged involvement were baseless.

Montenegro was invited to NATO in December 2015. In May 2016, NATO member states signed a protocol on Montenegro's accession to the alliance, which gives it the status of an observer at NATO meetings. To become a full-fledged bloc's partner, all 28 NATO countries must ratify the accession protocol to include the new member.

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