BUDVA: Once the Balkan stronghold of pro-Russian sentiments, tiny Montenegro is on Monday silently celebrating its entry into Nato in a historic turn that has made the Kremlin furious.

Despite the Russian anger and a deep split within the nation of some 620,000 people over the issue, Montenegro is formally becoming the 29th member of the Western military alliance at a ceremony in Washington on Monday.

To get there, Montenegro has stood up against its former ally Russia, which has sought to maintain strong historic, political and cultural influence in the Slavic country it considers a special zone of interest.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2017