PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Pro-Russian opposition leaders in Montenegro have asked the White House chief strategist to help block the Balkan country's NATO bid.

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Pro-Russian opposition leaders in Montenegro have asked the White House chief strategist to help block the Balkan country's NATO bid.

Two opposition officials wrote in a letter to Steve Bannon, a senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, that the U.S. Senate should vote against the accession. The vote has been stalled because of objections by two senators.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter on Friday.

So far, 25 of 28 NATO members have approved Montenegro's membership bid, but the U.S. endorsement is considered crucial.

Trump's stand on NATO, which he once described an "obsolete" organization, and his positive remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin have caused worries in Montenegro that the country could be left without Western support amid the Kremlin's expanding influence in the Balkan region.