Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) (AP)

(CNSNews.com) – In remarks on the Senate floor today, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said that because Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) objected to a bill to advance Montenegro’s inclusion in NATO, “the senator from Kentucky is now working for Vladimir Putin.”

“If there is objection -- and I note the senator from Kentucky on the floor -- I will say before I read this, if there’s objection, you are achieving the objectives of Vladimir Putin," said McCain. "You’re achieving the objectives of trying to dismember this small country [Montenegro] that has already been the subject of an attempted coup."

"I have no idea why anyone would object to this," he continued, "except I will say, if they object, they are now carrying out the desires and ambitions of Vladimir Putin, and I do not say that lightly.”

McCain then went on to explain the rules and procedures for pushing the Montenegro treaty bill forward in the Senate. As he finished his remarks, Sen. Paul asked the Senate president to speak.

Paul then said, "I object," and left the room.

McCain then said, “I note the senator from Kentucky leaving the floor without justification or any rationale for the action he has just taken. That is really remarkable, that a senator blocking a treaty that is supported by the overwhelming number—perhaps 98, at least, of his colleagues—would come to the floor and object and walk away, and walk away.”

“The only conclusion you can draw when he walks away is he has no justification for his objection to having a small nation be part of NATO that is under assault from the Russians," said McCain.

“So I repeat again, the senator from Kentucky is now working for Vladimir Putin," said McCain.

Montenegro is a small nation on the southern border of Bosnia-Herzegovnia and the nothern border of Albania. To its west is the Adriatic Sea and to its east is Serbia. Montenegro's population is estimated at 622,000. Montenegro is seeking to join the European Union and was invited to join NATO in 2015. Currently, there are 28 nations in NATO, a military alliance formed in 1949 to oppose the Soviet Union and then the Warsaw Pact. The Soviet Union officially dissolved as a nation in 1991.