Montenegro’s request to join NATO faces US Senate test

Montenegro is on the verge of becoming NATO’s newest member.

Ratification of the tiny Balkan nation’s admission into the alliance is expected to clear a procedural hurdle in the Senate on Monday, setting the stage for a final vote later this week.

Montenegro is in the middle of a clash between the West and Russia over influence in the Balkans. The outcome could determine the way the region is heading: toward NATO and the European Union or back to Russia’s sphere of influence.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has pressed the Senate to act quickly, telling Senate leaders earlier this month that the chamber’s approval should come ahead of a summit scheduled for May that will include NATO heads of state and government. He said the U.S. is one of the last remaining NATO members not to have given Montenegro’s bid “full parliamentary approval.”