Montenegro is set to become the newest member of NATO, subject to the approval of all member states. The small Balkan country signed its accession protocol at a foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels. 

Montenegro has been in talks to join NATO since 2009. That was also the year its former Yugoslav neighbor Croatia joined NATO.

“This is important for Montenegro because Montenegro in this way clearly declares its intention to implement the new system of values which is based exactly on the values that are at the cornerstone of the Euro-Atlantic Alliance. And we show that we would like to promote all these values in the Western Balkans,” said Milo Djukanovic, Montenegro’s prime minister. 

Russia has threatened to cut economic ties with Montenegro over a NATO membership. NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg says any retaliation from Russia would be absolutely unjustified, and Montenegro’s membership is crucial to the stability of the western Balkans. For the alliance, the more eastern European countries join, the safer the region will be.

“We are constantly looking for ways we can contribute to further enhance the stability of the whole region, and NATO enlargement has been an important tool to achieve exactly that,” Stoltenberg said.

For Montenegro’s government, this is a key step towards integration with the West, which they hope could eventually lead to EU membership.