Foreign Minister of Montenegro Igor Luksic speaks during a news conference after a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, December 2, 2015. 
 
 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (R) welcomes Foreign Minister of Montenegro Igor Luksic (C) during a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, December 2, 2015. 
 
 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (R) holds a news conference with Foreign Minister of Montenegro Igor Luksic after a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, December 2, 2015. 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) meets Montenegro's Foreign Minister Igor Luksic at the NATO ministerial meetings at NATO Headquarters in Brussels December 2, 2015. 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L) meets Montenegro's Foreign Minister Igor Luksic (L) at the NATO ministerial meetings at NATO Headquarters in Brussels December 2, 2015. 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry listens to a question during a news conference at the NATO ministerial meetings at NATO Headquarters in Brussels December 2, 2015. 
 
 BRUSSELS NATO invited tiny Montenegro on Wednesday to join the military alliance in its first expansion since 2009, defying Russian warnings that enlargement of the U.S.-led bloc further into the Balkans is "irresponsible" action that undermines trust. 
 
 In a scripted session at NATO's headquarters in Brussels, Montenegro's Foreign Minister Igor Luksic strode into the imposing conference hall to loud applause from his peers as NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg declared: "This is the beginning of a very beautiful alliance." 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the decision to invite Montenegro was not directed at Russia. "NATO is not a threat to anyone ... it is a defensive alliance, it is simply meant to provide security," Kerry told a news conference. "It is not focused on Russia or anyone else." 
 
 NATO diplomats said the decision sends a message to Moscow that it does not have a veto on the alliance's eastwards expansion, even if Georgia's membership bid has been complicated by its 2008 war with Russia. 
 
 Moscow opposes any NATO extension to former communist areas of eastern and southeastern Europe, part of an east-west struggle for influence over former Soviet satellites that is at the center of the crisis in Ukraine. 
 
 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in September that any expansion of NATO was "a mistake, even a provocation". In comments to Russian media then, he said NATO's so-called open door policy was "an irresponsible policy that undermines the determination to build a system of equal and shared security in Europe." 
 
 RIA news agency cited a Russian senator as saying on Wednesday that Russia will end joint projects with Montenegro if the ex-Communist country joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The Adriatic state of 650,000 people is expected to become a member formally next year. 
 
 Viktor Ozerov, head of the Russian Federation Council's defense and safety committee, said the projects which could be axed included those in military areas, RIA reported. 
 
 NATO foreign ministers broke off practical cooperation with Russia in April last year after Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and sparked the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 8,000 people. They can still talk to Russia through political and military channels, however. 
 
 Still, NATO allies are divided over what message to send to Georgia over its long-delayed membership bid, with some European capitals arguing the alliance would be unable to defend the ex-Soviet state in the event of a conflict with Russia. 
 
 'BLATANT' CONTRADICTION 
 
 Those difficulties were underlined by a foreign ministers' joint statement that provided little momentum in Georgia's membership talks. 
 
 Ministers repeated their long-held position that Tbilisi must continue to prepare for membership one day, calling for Russia's military to withdraw from Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. 
 
 Russia's continued presence there and agreements signed between Russia and the two regions "blatantly contradict the principles of international law," the statement said. 
 
 NATO's founding treaty deems an attack against one ally an attack against all, giving any member a guarantee of protection. But Georgia, which is a partner but not an ally, does not qualify for any such protection. 
 
 NATO membership is also dependent on a country settling any outstanding territorial disputes - another big hurdle for Georgia. 
 
 After Albania and Croatia joined NATO in 2009, only Serbia, Russia's closest ally in the Balkans, is the only Balkan country not actively pursuing membership of the alliance. Foreign ministers signaled support for Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but neither are expected to join soon. 
 
 Even though Montenegro has now been invited, it could take months for it formally to join. But Stoltenberg said he expected accession talks to go quickly, suggesting that the small Balkan state might become a member at the next summit of NATO leaders in July in Warsaw. 
 
 (Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Richard Balmforth) 

 Image caption It is Nato's first expansion into eastern Europe since Albania and Croatia joined in 2009 
 
 Nato has invited Montenegro to join the US-led military alliance, in its first expansion for six years. 
 
 The decision, described by Nato head Jens Stoltenberg as "historic", comes 16 years after the alliance bombed Montenegro during the Kosovo war, when it was still part of Yugoslavia. 
 
 Montenegro's accession would result in "retaliatory actions", said a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin. 
 
 Accession talks are expected to take about a year to complete. 
 
 The invitation to Montenegro is Nato's first expansion into eastern Europe since Albania and Croatia joined in 2009. 
 
 The mountainous Adriatic state of 650,000 people has a small military with about 2,000 active members. 
 
 Nato diplomats say it sends a message to Russia that it cannot veto the alliance's expansion - but Russia has said it will retaliate. 
 
 "The continued eastward expansion of Nato and Nato's military infrastructure cannot but result in retaliatory actions from the east, i.e. from the Russian side, in terms of ensuring security and supporting the parity of interests," Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 
 
 Mr Peskov added that it was too early to specify what the retaliatory actions would be. 
 
 Analysis - Jonathan Marcus, BBC diplomatic correspondent 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption Nato aircraft bombed Montenegro in 1999 during the Kosovo war 
 
 Montenegro is now on its way to becoming Nato's 29th member, some 16 years after Nato bombs were dropping on Serbian military targets in the country. 
 
 It is an indication of the dramatic changes in the region. Montenegro's government believes that its eventual membership will be good news for the western Balkans and will contribute to increasing stability in the region. 
 
 Montenegro has tiny armed forces. Its navy largely comprises two ex-Yugoslav frigates. Thus it is unlikely to be a major contributor to Nato's collective security. 
 
 For Nato it is a further demonstration that the alliance's door remains open to new members. The invitation for Montenegro to begin the process of membership has clearly irritated Moscow, which regards Nato expansion as a provocation, while Nato insists that this decision has nothing at all to do with Russia. 
 
 Montenegrins themselves remain divided over joining. 
 
 Many remain angry that Nato bombed Serbia and Montenegro in 1999 as part of a strategy to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanians in Serbia's then southern province of Kosovo. 
 
 The country has also seen an influx of Russian money, homebuyers and tourists since splitting from Serbia in 2006. 
 
 The government of Milo Djukanovic - which is in favour of joining - has resisted calls from some opposition parties for a referendum on the issue. 
 
 However, Nato diplomats point to polls that suggest public opinion is narrowly in favour of joining. 
 
 Besides Montenegro and Georgia, the other current candidates for Nato membership are Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia. 

 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center left, speaks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, center right, during a round table meeting of Resolute Support at NATO headquarters in Brussels on... (Associated Press) 
 
 BRUSSELS (AP) — Foreign ministers from NATO countries were expected to invite Montenegro to join the military alliance despite Russia's objection to the move, diplomats said, the latest sign of discord between the West and Moscow even as they both battle the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. 
 
 Montenegro's accession was one of several topics being discussed at two-day meeting of top diplomats from the alliance that began Tuesday. Other issues include the funding for NATO's longstanding mission in Afghanistan, improving Turkish defenses, and injecting "predictability" in relations with an increasingly assertive Russia in places like Ukraine and Syria in recent months, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. 
 
 "The security environment in which we meet today is dark: Terrorist attacks, violent instability (and) the breach of international rules. These are serious challenges from many different directions, and NATO is responding," Stoltenberg said. He pointed to violent extremism in the "South" — a NATO buzzword for the Middle East and North Africa — and said recent extremist attacks show a "qualitatively new challenge." 
 
 The decision on a formal invitation to Montenegro — part of the alliance's longstanding "open-door" policy for potential new members — comes Wednesday, Stoltenberg said, but two NATO diplomats said it's a done deal. Russia has warned Montenegro that its joining NATO would be regarded as a provocation. The diplomats requested anonymity to speak about a pending decision. 
 
 On Monday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said Washington supports an invitation to Montenegro. 
 
 "We believe Montenegro's membership in NATO will contribute to Balkan and European security," she said. 
 
 Accession by Montenegro is on track to take place at the alliance's summit in Warsaw next year, about seven years after NATO last expanded by taking in Albania and Croatia — a year after they too were invited. 
 
 Last week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing that a decision by NATO to start negotiations with Montenegro on its accession to the alliance would be "yet another serious blow" to the existing security system. She said such a move would be "confrontational" and "could lead to further complication of the already difficult relations between Russia and NATO." 
 
 Sergei Zheleznyak, a prominent member of Russia's parliament, on Monday said Russia would have to reassess its relations with Montenegro if it joined NATO without holding a referendum. 
 
 "We would have to change our policy in regard to this friendly country," he said. "If NATO military infrastructure were placed there, we would have to respond by limiting our contacts in economic and other spheres." 
 
 Russia began airstrikes in Syria on Sept. 30 that it says are focused on fighters from IS, which a U.S.-led coalition has been hitting with airstrikes in parts of Syria and Iraq that the group controls. Some observers say Russia is targeting other rebel groups to bolster the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally of Moscow. 
 
 Douglas Lute, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, said Monday: "I understand Russia's perspective on this," but insisted the accession of Montenegro is "not designed in any way as a message to Russia." Lute also noted that public opinion in Montenegro, which many Russians visit as tourists and some have bought property and businesses, has not been fully supportive of its entry into the alliance. 
 
 Montenegro is one of four countries now being considered for NATO inclusion, along with fellow one-time members of Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, plus Georgia — a former Soviet republic and Russia neighbor whose candidacy is widely seen as far more problematic. 
 
 "We believe that Georgia's relationship with the alliance contains all the practical tools that will prepare it for eventual membership," Trudeau said. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Lynn Berry contributed from Moscow.
– Montenegro is smaller than Connecticut and it has far fewer people, but the former Yugoslav republic is now punching well above its weight in international relations. Despite Russia's objections, NATO invited the country to join the alliance on Wednesday, marking its first expansion since Albania and Croatia joined in 2009, reports Reuters. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg—who declared "the beginning of a very beautiful alliance" during a meeting at alliance headquarters in Brussels—insists that the move was made without Russia in mind, Reuters notes, though the BBC reports that NATO diplomats say it's a message to Moscow that it cannot impede the alliance's expansion. Reuters describes Russia's position as such: "Moscow opposes any NATO extension to former communist areas of eastern and southeastern Europe, part of an east-west struggle for influence over former Soviet satellites that is at the center of the crisis in Ukraine." The BBC notes that with a military of around 2,000 people out of a population of 650,000 and a navy that "largely comprises two ex-Yugoslav frigates," Montenegro will not be a major military contributor to NATO as its 29th member. Russia has described NATO negotiations with Montenegro as "confrontational" and "yet another serious blow" to the current security situation, reports the AP, which notes that Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and—most alarmingly for Russia—Georgia are also on course to join NATO.