NATO has decided to offer partnership for peace memberships to Bosnia, Montenegro, and Serbia, joining another 20 countries in Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia that work with NATO countries in individual ways. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told reporters the decision is “a very important political step” primarily because it helps bring the “full region more fully into the Euro-Atlantic family.” He added, though, that the Alliance expects Bosnia and Serbia to “cooperate fully with the International Tribunal.”
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.