UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Montenegro on Wednesday became the 192nd member of the United Nations, a month after it ended its 88-year partnership with Serbia that completed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.
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"I declare the Republic of Montenegro admitted to membership in the United Nations," U.N. General Assembly President Jan Eliasson announced after calling for approval by acclamation in the 191-nation body.
General Assembly members then broke into applause as the Balkan country's president, Filip Vujanovic, Foreign Minister Miodrag Vlahovic and U.N. envoy Nebojsa Kaludjerovic were escorted to their new seats, next to the Mongolian delegation.
"I am confident that Montenegro will strive for good neighborly relations and strong regional cooperation in the western Balkans, thus promoting stability in an area struck by conflict in the recent past," Eliasson said.
The resolution accepting Montenegro as a member was introduced by Austria's U.N. ambassador, Gerhard Pfanzelter, whose country currently heads the 25-member European Union.
Montenegro has about 650,000 people, compared to Serbia's population of 7.5 million, with a landscape of forested mountains and a sparkling Adriatic coast destined for a tourism boom.
It declared independence from Serbia on June 3, after a referendum passed by a slim margin on May 21.
The U.N. seat previously assigned to Serbia and Montenegro is now in Serbia's hands. The last country to join the United Nations was East Timor, in September 2002.
Montenegro is the last of former Yugoslavia's constituent republics to leave the orbit of Serbia, after Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Bosnia split during the bloody Balkan wars of the 1990s.
After Serbia's U.N. envoy wished Montenegro well, Vujanovic said he particularly wanted to develop close cooperation with Belgrade "in all spheres of common interest reflecting our social and historic ties."
"Montenegro has been very proud of its multiethnic and multireligious harmony, as one of its fundamental values, recognizable both in a regional and broader international context," Vujanovic said.
Jackie Sanders, a U.S. deputy ambassador, told the assembly, "We join our colleagues in extending our congratulations to the Republic of Montenegro on this momentous occasion in its history."
Shortly after the General Assembly plenary, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Eliasson and the Montenegro delegation went to the front lawn of the U.N. complex to raise Montenegro's red flag bearing a gold coat of arms.
"The people of Montenegro demonstrated that adherence to democratic values and the rule of law offer the most effective way to achieve political goals," Annan said. "These are especially important messages given the recent violent past in the Balkan region."
(Additional reporting by Ljubinka Cagorovic in Podgorica)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060628/wl_nm/montenegro_un_dc
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"I declare the Republic of Montenegro admitted to membership in the United Nations," U.N. General Assembly President Jan Eliasson announced after calling for approval by acclamation in the 191-nation body.
General Assembly members then broke into applause as the Balkan country's president, Filip Vujanovic, Foreign Minister Miodrag Vlahovic and U.N. envoy Nebojsa Kaludjerovic were escorted to their new seats, next to the Mongolian delegation.
"I am confident that Montenegro will strive for good neighborly relations and strong regional cooperation in the western Balkans, thus promoting stability in an area struck by conflict in the recent past," Eliasson said.
The resolution accepting Montenegro as a member was introduced by Austria's U.N. ambassador, Gerhard Pfanzelter, whose country currently heads the 25-member European Union.
Montenegro has about 650,000 people, compared to Serbia's population of 7.5 million, with a landscape of forested mountains and a sparkling Adriatic coast destined for a tourism boom.
It declared independence from Serbia on June 3, after a referendum passed by a slim margin on May 21.
The U.N. seat previously assigned to Serbia and Montenegro is now in Serbia's hands. The last country to join the United Nations was East Timor, in September 2002.
Montenegro is the last of former Yugoslavia's constituent republics to leave the orbit of Serbia, after Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Bosnia split during the bloody Balkan wars of the 1990s.
After Serbia's U.N. envoy wished Montenegro well, Vujanovic said he particularly wanted to develop close cooperation with Belgrade "in all spheres of common interest reflecting our social and historic ties."
"Montenegro has been very proud of its multiethnic and multireligious harmony, as one of its fundamental values, recognizable both in a regional and broader international context," Vujanovic said.
Jackie Sanders, a U.S. deputy ambassador, told the assembly, "We join our colleagues in extending our congratulations to the Republic of Montenegro on this momentous occasion in its history."
Shortly after the General Assembly plenary, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Eliasson and the Montenegro delegation went to the front lawn of the U.N. complex to raise Montenegro's red flag bearing a gold coat of arms.
"The people of Montenegro demonstrated that adherence to democratic values and the rule of law offer the most effective way to achieve political goals," Annan said. "These are especially important messages given the recent violent past in the Balkan region."
(Additional reporting by Ljubinka Cagorovic in Podgorica)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060628/wl_nm/montenegro_un_dc
