Zagreb - The Croatian parliament ratified Montenegro's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on Friday. The law ratifying the Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of Montenegro was carried by 96 votes in favour, three against and two abstentions. Present during the vote was the Speaker of the Montenegrin parliament, Ivan Brajović.
The Croatian parliament also decided to send additional troops to six peacekeeping missions in which Croatia has been present for years. The missions in questions are the NATO-led operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo, the UN-led operations in India and Pakistan, the Western Sahara and Lebanon, and the EU mission in Somalia. Croatia currently has 94 personnel in Afghanistan, 24 in Kosovo, 17 in the three UN missions and 14 in the EU mission.
Parliament decided that next year up to 100 personnel can be sent to Afghanistan, up to 40 to Kosovo, up to 23 to the UN missions and up to 25 to the EU mission. Under the present decision, a maximum of 95 troops could have been sent to Afghanistan and a maximum of 35 to Kosovo. (Hina)