U.S. admiral visits Montenegro

U.S. admiral visits Montenegro

"NATO by itself can not maintain peace; it takes all of the nations working together," Groothousen said.

Montenegro has sought to establish closer ties with NATO.

Groothousen said his visit was aimed at beginning Montenegro's naval cooperation with NATO.

"More than anything else, this is a handshake between NATO and Montenegrin navy," he said.

Four NATO ships, including USS Roosevelt, arrived Saturday in Montenegro's coastal town of Tivat. Two Montenegrin officers were taking part in a training program on board one of the ships.

NATO's maritime units five years ago launched a Mediterranean-wide counter terrorism operation dubbed Operation Active Endeavour.

The deputy commander of the Montenegrin army, Adm. Dragan Samardžić, said his country's navy would take part in a NATO exercise in the Ionian sea in June.