Dec 4, 2009, 13:06 GMT
Brussels - NATO foreign ministers on Friday decided to offer Montenegro a plan for how to join the alliance, but agreed that it was too early to offer the same privilege to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the alliance's secretary general said.
The decision is a major step on Montenegro's path towards eventual NATO membership. It is likely to be greeted with anger in Bosnia, and may also give rise to discontent in Georgia and Ukraine, which NATO leaders last year decided not to award a membership plan.
'Today Montenegro has been granted its request to join the Membership Action Plan (MAP), and a clear message has been given to Bosnia that it will join the MAP once it achieves the necessary progress in reform,' Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
The decision, taken by NATO foreign ministers at their regular winter meeting in Brussels, means that NATO officials will now draw up an intensive reform programme with Montenegro to bring its military and political life into line with NATO standards.
'With a sustained effort at further reform, today's invitation to join the MAP will be a stepping stone to the ultimate goal, full membership in NATO,' Rasmussen stressed.
But foreign ministers decided that Bosnia was not ready for the step, following the months-long deadlock on constitutional reform between the country's ethnic groups.
'The allies are united in their view that Bosnia must and will also find its home in NATO: it's not a question of if, but when. But it is also true that Bosnia has more to do. We therefore decided that Bosnia will join the MAP once it achieves the necessary progress in its reform efforts,' Rasmussen said.
'I would like to send a strong message to the people and politicians of Bosnia: by today's decision we have shown confidence in you, now we expect you to live up to this confidence,' he said.
NATO leaders have repeatedly said that all the states of the Western Balkans should join the alliance when they are ready to, as a way of cementing regional stability. Slovenia joined in 2004, while Croatia and Albania joined this April.
Macedonia had also hoped to join this year, but NATO member state Greece vetoed its entry as part of the two countries' row over Macedonia's name.
'We remain committed to seeing the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia seated at our table as a member of the alliance. An invitation to start accession talks will be extended as soon as a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue has been reached,' a joint statement from foreign ministers on Friday read.
Finally, ministers pledged to 'continue to be open to the fullest possible political dialogue and practical cooperation with Serbia,' which the alliance bombed in 1999 to stop the ethnic war in Kosovo.
They also praised Serbia's 'significant progress' in cooperating with international war-crimes prosecutors in The Hague, but urged the Balkan state to 'maintain its efforts,' especially by tracking down the remaining war-crimes suspects.
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