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US pledges support for Montenegros joining of NATO

WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (KUNA) -- The US has pledged support for Montenegro becoming a NATO member and congratulated it for achieving the Membership Action Plan (MAP) status with the Atlantic Alliance.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters following her meeting with Montenegros Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic last night that the talks they held mainly focused on "the Western Balkans and the role that Montenegro is playing to ensure stability." She said that she congratulated the Prime Minister on his country "achieving MAP status with NATO, and pledged the United States support for Montenegro becoming an integral part of the Euro-Atlantic community." "I offered the support of the United States as Montenegro makes some of the reforms in the rule of law area that both NATO and the European Union are looking to see," she added.
The US top diplomat noted that she thanked the visiting Premier "for his countrys commitment to sending infantry troops to be part of the international force in Afghanistan." For his part, Djukanovic thanked Clinton for "the support to Montenegro in pursuing our goal, which is membership action plan at NATO." He affirmed that his country stands ready "to work hard to fulfill all the obligations in the next stages of our integration." The Prime Minister voiced confidence that his country will be the next country to become a new NATO member.
"Our two challenges for the future are improving, enhancing the rule of law, and we stand committed to doing this in order to improve the quality of life of our citizens and achieve our European and Euro-Atlantic goals as soon as possible," he stressed.
He reiterated that Montenegro "is and will remain a responsible and reliable partner to the US and EU in dealing with the still outstanding issues in the Balkans." "We will also work closely with our partners in other places beyond our region, starting with Afghanistan," he affirmed. (end).
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