- Title: U.S., Montenegro to sign military deal, Pompeo
- Date: 4th October 2019
- Summary: PODGORICA, MONTENEGRO (OCTOBER 4, 2019) (REUTERS) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO AND MONTENEGRIN PRIME MINISTER DUSKO MARKOVIC WALKING TO LECTERNS TO GIVE STATEMENTS POMPEO SPEAKING AT LECTERN (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, MIKE POMPEO, SAYING: "And I'm pleased to report that just this week, the U.S. offered an agreement to Montenegro for the largest sale of military equipment in the history between our two nations. The United States looks forward to delivering $36 million worth of light tactical vehicles to our NATO ally, once this agreement is finalised." PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS CAMERAS FILMING POMPEO SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, MIKE POMPEO, SAYING: "We've also seen Montenegro's commitment in confronting 21st century threats. Because of our direct cybersecurity cooperation with Montenegro, we've been able to develop patches against the latest Russian malware that now protect billions of devices worldwide. I'm proud to say that the next round of collaboration is currently underway and I know it will yield positive results." MARKOVIC SPEAKING AT LECTERN PHOTOGRAPHER TAKING PHOTOGRAPH JOURNALISTS SITTING AND LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Montenegrin) MONTENEGRIN PRIME MINISTER, DUSKO MARKOVIC, SAYING: "It is very important to say that Montenegro supports the position of the United States concerning burden-sharing with its European allies, because this is our responsibility for our own security. Every year, Montenegro has been increasing its investment into defence and there is no doubt that by 2024 and, I am hopeful, even sooner, that we will be able to reach this 2% goal, that is our shared goal." POMPEO AND MARKOVIC WALKING IN FRONT OF LECTERNS TO SHAKE HANDS, POMPEO AND MARKOVIC LEAVING (SHOT PART MUTE) POMPEO AND MARKOVIC WALKING UP STAIRS (MUTE) POMPEO SITTING FOR MEETING WITH MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT MILO DJUKANOVIC POMPEO AND DJUKANOVIC SITTING WITH DELEGATIONS
- Embargoed: 18th October 2019 11:40
- Keywords: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic NATO 2% spending target sale of U.S. military equipment
- Location: PODGORICA, MONTENEGRO
- City: PODGORICA, MONTENEGRO
- Country: USA
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001AZOML3B
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The United States and Montenegro, which joined NATO in 2017, are finalising their biggest bilateral arms deal, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday (October 4).
Pompeo said the deal comprised $36 million dollars worth of light tactical vehicles.
Pompeo is on a short trip to Montenegro and North Macedonia, which is in the process of joining the Atlantic alliance.
He also commended intelligence cooperation with Montenegro, saying it had produced patches protecting "billions" of devices from Russian malware.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic said via an interpreter the country would reach NATO's goal of spending 2% of GDP on defence by 2024.
(Production: Fedja Grulovic, Lewis Macdonald) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
