 |
| Filip Vujanovic, President of the Republic
of Montenegro addresses the General Assembly shortly after his country was
admitted as the 192nd Member State of the United Nations at United Nations
headquarters in New York Wednesday, June, 28, 2006. (Xinhua
photo) |
UNITED NATIONS, June 28 (Xinhua) -- The
United Nations on Wednesday welcomed the Republic of Montenegro as its 192nd
member of the United Nations.
Montenegro was admitted as the new member states
Wednesday morning by a General Assembly resolution adopted by acclamation, upon
recommendation by the Security Council.
Filip Vujanovic, President of Montenegro, delivered
his country's first statement to the Assembly, saying that by becoming a UN
member state, Montenegro had assumed a challenge and responsibility to actively
support international peace building, peacekeeping, conflict resolution and
humanitarian efforts.
He added that Montenegro attached special importance
to good neighborly relations, and particularly wanted to further develop close
cooperation with Serbia.
Meanwhile, Slavko Kruljevic, Deputy Permanent
Representative of Serbia, said he was pleased to see a country, with which
Serbia had friendly and close ties, becoming a member of the United Nations, and
promised Serbia would seek friendly bilateral relations with Montenegro.
There was a flag-raising ceremony minutes after the
Montenegrin delegation had been escorted by UN protocol officers to its seats in
the General Assembly - next to Mongolia and behind Madagascar.
"The people of Montenegro demonstrated that adherence
to democratic values and the rule of law offer the most effective way to achieve
political goals," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said at the ceremony that
followed the country's admission.
"And they showed that even the most difficult and
sensitive problems can be resolved peacefully. These are especially important
messages given the violent past in the Balkan region," he added.
Jan Eliasson, President of the General Assembly,
expressed confidence that the country would work for strong regional cooperation
in the Western Balkans, promoting stability in the area.
The Security Council issued a formal presidential statement on Thursday, recommending that the General Assembly admit Montenegro, which held a referendum on May 21, to become independent from Serbia. Enditem
[1] [2] [3] [4]
