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RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHPOD #0281/01 3151724
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101724Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY PODGORICA
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1022
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHPOD/AMEMBASSY PODGORICA 1110

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PODGORICA 000281 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/SCE AND EUR/RPM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL MARR MW
SUBJECT: TEXT OF MONTENEGRIN PM DJUKANOVIC'S LETTER TO NATO SECGEN 
 
REF: PODGORICA 278 
 
PODGORICA 00000281  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. Post received an official copy of the letter from H.E. Milo 
Djukanovic, Prime Minister of Montenegro, which was delivered to 
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on November 5 in 
Brussels. Original will be hand delivered to EUR/SCE. 
 
 
 
Begin Text 
 
 
 
Podgorica, 4 November 2008 
 
 
 
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer 
 
Secretary General 
 
NATO Belgium 
 
Brussels 
 
 
 
Dear Secretary General, 
 
 
 
I wish to assure you that my government is fully committed to 
its course toward NATO, a policy that was endorsed by the 
Montenegrin Parliament on 3 October 2008 in its resolution on 
accelerating the process of European and Euro-Atlantic 
integration. I believe that our closer association with the 
Alliance, and eventual membership in it, will not only benefit 
Montenegro, but will also promote NATO's strategic goal of 
bringing stability to southeast Europe. 
 
 
 
As you know, Montenegro began an Intensified Dialogue with NATO 
on Membership Issues after the NATO Summit in Bucharest in 
April. This dialogue has been extremely valuable to us, and we 
can now envision that our Ministry of Defense and the NATO 
International Staff will have an agreed view on what Montenegro 
might undertake within the Membership Action Plan. 
 
 
 
For this reason, I am writing to formally submit our application 
to join NATO's Membership Action Plan as soon as NATO has had an 
opportunity to review the results of the Intensified Dialogue 
but not later than the April 2009 NATO Summit. 
 
 
 
Let me say at the outset that the Government of Montenegro 
recognizes that the Membership Action Plan will be a multi-year 
commitment. We have learned a great deal from our neighbors in 
the Adriatic Charter: Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia. We 
understand the challenges and the commitment of time and 
resources required in the action plan. But we also understand 
that for a small democracy in the Balkans the most important 
thing is to get started. 
 
 
 
As a result of the Intensified Dialogue and bilateral 
discussions with NATO allies, we have identified our priorities 
for the initial years in the MAP. Montenegro will continue to 
implement the goals of IPAP. We are developing plans to realize 
the goals of our partnership with NATO, among them permanent 
communication with the Allies. At the same time, we plan to 
continue to take part in PfP exercises and to complete the 
preparations of units capable of deploying alongside NATO forces 
in international peacekeeping. We will continue to invest in 
equipment interoperable with NATO equipment, to destroy excess 
weapons, to fulfill the agreement between Montenegro and NATO on 
the Security of Information, and to increase public support for 
membership in the Alliance. 
 
 
 
(1)                      Military Organization and 
Modernization:  Montenegro's Ministry of Defense was formed upon 
our independence in 2006, almost two years ago. Since then, with 
the help of NATO partners, we have made steady progress in 
defining the organization, equipment and overall reform of the 
armed forces. The fact that the Montenegrin military is not 
significantly burdened by an antiquated Yugoslav or Warsaw Pact 
 
PODGORICA 00000281  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
military structure offers us a great opportunity to adopt the 
best practices of the NATO allies from the beginning. 
 
 
 
(2)                     Strategic Concept:  The strategic 
concept of the Army of Montenegro is to be included in the 
collective security system of NATO. Montenegro's goal is to 
build an integrated and functional security system that enables 
prevention, management and resolution of potential crisis, 
conflicts and disputes regardless of their character and level, 
in accordance with international standards and principles. We 
have been very impressed by the successes of the Baltic states, 
Slovakia, Slovenia as well as Albania, Croatia and Macedonia in 
building small, agile forces which meet NATO standards and 
fulfill roles needed by the Alliance. We hope to draw on their 
experiences to ensure that our military is the right size and 
has the right capabilities to contribute to NATO's missions. 
 
 
 
(3)                     Niche Capabilities:  We have identified 
several niche capabilities, including, inter alia, underwater 
demining, medical personnel, and light infantry. On 8 October 
2008 the Parliament passed the Law on Participation of the 
Members of the Army of Montenegro in Peace Missions and other 
Activities abroad. By the end of this year we expect to have 
prepared a medical team for participation in peace missions, in 
accordance with the partnership goals.  Next year, we expect to 
have a unit ready to deploy to NATO missions. We are examining 
the capacity of our forces to determine what support we might 
provide for stabilization efforts in frozen conflict regions. 
 
 
 
(4)                     Regional Cooperation:  We are keenly 
aware of the need for even greater defense and political 
cooperation throughout the Western Balkans.  Montenegro is proud 
to have good relations with all states in the region, not to 
have unresolved issues with neighboring states, to stand as a 
constructive partner and a source of stability in the region, 
and to be prepared to participate in all efforts to strengthen 
regional cooperation and coordination. In the two years since 
independence, we have joined all regional initiatives and 
organizations. We remain fully committed to regional cooperation 
and the concept of regional ownership, as an important 
contribution to stability and to Euro Atlantic integration. 
Having been invited to join the Adriatic Charter we are prepared 
to actively participate in initiatives to build regional defense 
and security cooperation. We hope that our future membership in 
SEDM will allow Montenegro to play an even more important role 
in maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity in our region. 
 
 
 
(5)                     NATO Information:  Since independence in 
2006, we believe that strong public support has emerged for 
integration with European institutions, and that support for 
NATO will increase as Montenegrin citizens better understand the 
Alliance and its benefits.  The Government of Montenegro has put 
in place a wide-ranging communications strategy, working with 
NATO Allies to develop a campaign to build broad public support. 
We are hopeful that a NATO office will open in Podgorica by the 
end of 2008, to enable us to strengthen practical cooperation 
with the Alliance. My Government is prepared to contribute 
substantial material and technical support to the establishment 
of this Office. 
 
 
 
(6)                     Norms, Capacity and Political Values: 
We realize that technical capabilities and defense reforms alone 
are insufficient for NATO membership. In the course of the 
Membership Action Plan, we expect to continue working to bring 
this country into accord with the European standards to which 
the Government of Montenegro aspires. This dialogue is welcome, 
and we are ready to invest the effort and resources needed to 
become a valued NATO partner and ally. Through our foreign and 
defense policies, we have demonstrated our willingness to be a 
trustworthy partner to the Euro Atlantic community in 
maintaining regional stability. We have also supported NATO 
operations by donating surplus arms to the Government of 
Afghanistan. We will continue to support the goals and values of 
NATO, by demonstrating that we understand our responsibilities 
as Europeans and as future members of NATO. In the same way, we 
hope to progress in integrating into the European Union, 
building upon the Stabilization and Association Agreement signed 
last year. We have begun implementation of the Interim 
Agreement, and we are preparing to apply for membership in the 
EU in the near future. In this parallel process, Montenegro is 
conducting comprehensive reforms in strengthening the rule of 
 
PODGORICA 00000281  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
law, democratic institutions, and creating conditions for a 
functioning market economy. 
 
 
 
Mr. Secretary General, I want to thank you for your support over 
the years for peace in the Balkans and for the continuing 
integration of democracies in Southeast Europe into European 
institutions. You understand as well as anyone how far 
Montenegro and our neighbors have come since the beginning of 
the 1990's. Now that Slovenia has successfully served as EU 
Presidency and our friends in Albania and Croatia have reached 
the threshold of NATO membership, it is time for the next 
generation of European democracies, including Montenegro, to 
follow the same path. 
 
 
 
I look forward to working closely with you in coming months on 
our entry into the Membership Action Plan. I would like to take 
this opportunity to invite you and the NATO Permanent 
Representatives to Podgorica before the April Summit to have a 
first-hand look at our preparations for MAP. 
 
 
 
Sincerely yours, 
 
 
 
Milo Pukanovic 
 
 
 
End text 
MOORE