Montenegro Defense Minister Denies Country’s Majority Against NATO

The latest public polling data indicates the majority of Montenegrins support the country’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Montenegrin Defense Minister Milica Pejanovic Durisic said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Asked to address reports indicating the majority of Montenegrins oppose joining the military alliance, Durisic stated the information in the reports "are completely wrong."

"We are actually doing very regular polls of public opinion… and the latest one showed there is a great difference between those who are for the Montenegrins' NATO membership and those who are against," Durisic stated at an Atlantic Council event on NATO enlargement.

She further noted that there is a margin of "more than ten percent" between those who support NATO membership and those who oppose it.

In May, the leader of Montenegro’s Democratic Front opposition party, Milan Knezevic, told Russian media that at least 54 percent of Montenegrins surveyed opposed NATO membership.

After Montenegro was invited to NATO in December 2015, tens of thousands of citizens took to the streets of Podgorica and other towns to demand a referendum on the issue.

For Montenegro to become a full-fledged alliance partner, all 28 NATO countries must ratify the founding treaty to include the new member.