Pence welcomes Montenegro leader to White House

WASHINGTON – Vice-President Mike Pence is welcoming Montenegro as the newest member of NATO and says the United States is committed to the alliance’s “collective defence obligations.”

Pence met Monday with Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic at the White House. President Donald Trump pushed past Markovic at a NATO meeting last month in an incident that spread rapidly on social networks. Markovic later called it a “harmless situation.”

Montenegro became NATO’s 29th member on Monday.

The White House says Pence expressed “steadfast commitment to the Alliance and our collective defence obligations.”

At last month’s gathering in Brussels, Trump pressed NATO allies about their financial commitments and did not explicitly endorse the “one for all, all for one” defence doctrine critical to the alliance.