Dr. Celeste Wallander, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, hosted Montenegro's Defense Minister Dragan Krapović at the Pentagon today.
Participants included Mr. Marko Marković, State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense of Montenegro; Mr. Alton Buland, Principal Director for European and NATO Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense; Ms. Radmila Perović, Defense Policy Director of Montenegro; Colonel Željko Radulović, Montenegrin Defense Attaché to the U.S.; Lieutenant Colonel Allan Gryskewicz, U.S. Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché; and other representatives from the Department of Defense and the Ministry of Defense of Montenegro.
The leaders discussed bilateral security cooperation priorities, including support for Ukraine, contributions to global security, joint exercises and training, plans for new Bilateral Defense Consultations, and Montenegro's longstanding State Partnership Program with the Maine National Guard. Montenegrin defense officials provided an update on military modernization and views on the security situation in the region. The United States reaffirmed the importance of a stable and secure Western Balkans for wider Euro-Atlantic security.
