The picturesque Bay of Kotor waterfront in Montenegro. Pixabay. PD.In mid-March, on the floor of the U.S. Senate, one of the most experienced lawmakers in the country accused his colleague and fellow Republican of “working for Vladimir Putin.”
This outburst wasn’t caused by allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election or the growing list of scandals surrounding the Republican White House. Instead, it was about a country with a population half the size of Milan’s, an economy around three times smaller than Vermont’s, and a standing army slightly outnumbered by the South Yorkshire Police.
According to Senator John McCain, the tiny Adriatic state of Montenegro is carrying “the democratic aspirations of free peoples in Southeastern Europe” as it prepares to become the 29th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Opponents of its accession, he argued, are “prevent[ing] this small, brave country from joining in the defence of the free world”, thereby “achieving the objectives of Vladimir Putin.”
