Montenegro becomes 192nd member of United Nations

UNITED NATIONS, June 28 (Reuters) Montenegro became the 192nd member of the United Nations, a month after it ended its 88-year partnership with Serbia that completed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

The UN General Assembly of 191 nations admitted the small Balkan country of 650,000 people to the world body. It approved by acclamation a resolution introduced by Austria's UN ambassador, Gerhard Pfanzelter, whose country currently heads the European Union.

Montenegro declared independence from Serbia, a country of 7.5 million people, after a referendum passed by a slim margin on May 21. It declared independence on June 3.

The UN seat previously assigned to Serbia and Montenegro is now in Serbia's hands. The last country to join the United Nations was East Timor in September 2002.

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