Earlier week the Bulgarian parliament ratified the NATO Accession Protocol for Montenegro. Bulgaria is among the first to have ratified the treaty with NATO signed in May. According to the Speaker of the Skupstina (Montenegro’s parliament) Darko Pajovic Montenegro is extremely grateful for the ratification on the part of the Bulgarian parliament. This will be a further incentive for the rest of NATO countries to carry out the ratification, Pajovic said and added Bulgaria had once again acted as a reliable and friendly partner of Montenegro. In 2006 Bulgaria was among the first countries who recognized the independence of Montenegro.