Montenegro, US to Exchange Classified Military Information

The security agreement signed by the US and Montenegro will allow the exchange of security data in the defence and military sphere and provide Podgorica with access to new intelligence technologies.

Under the agreement, which BIRN has seen, Montenegro will be able to access the Pentagon's intelligence data to the highest 'top secret' level, but only under strict rules and only for authorised personnel with the necessary security clearance.

"No individual shall be entitled to have access to classified information solely by virtue of rank, position, appointment," the agreement says.

Although the Montenegrin Defence Ministry has a security and intelligence arm, the country's civilian National Security Agency (ANB) will be the institution that is authorised to share classified data with the Pentagon.

The agreement also sets out logistical rules for the sending of the classified data.

"Material, including equipment, that contains classified information shall be transported in sealed, covered vehicles, or shall otherwise be securely packaged or protected in order to prevent identification of its shape, size, or contents, and kept under continuous control to prevent access by unauthorised persons," the agreement says.

In signing the agreement, both countries also agreed to some kind of inspections of the implementation of the security requirements, enabling them to be verified through reciprocal visits by security personnel from Montenegro and the US.

The agreement was negotiated by the two defence ministries and signed in February in Washington by Montenegrin defence Minister Predrag Boskovic and US Defence Secretary James Mattis, but its content not be revealed until now.

In a press statement after the signing, the...