NATO Secretary General thanks Prime Minister Gruevski for strong contribution to NATO operations
The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomed Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski at NATO headquarters on Wednesday (12 February) for a meeting with the North Atlantic Council and praised the excellent cooperation between the Alliance and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia¹.
“We highly value your strong contribution to ISAF and your help with lines of communications for KFOR in Kosovo. You are a strong contributor to international security”, he said.
The NATO Secretary General and Prime Minister Gruevski discussed progress on important reforms, including in the defence sector. The Secretary General stressed that it will be key to keep the momentum of reform.
“Effective democratic structures, an inclusive dialogue and freedom of the media are important in helping you advance your Euro-Atlantic aspirations”, Mr. Fogh Rasmussen said . “Cooperation between government and opposition, and across all communities, remains essential to deliver the full potential of reforms”.
The Secretary General added that the Alliance very much welcomes Skopje’s firm commitment to the NATO accession process.
“We have agreed to extend an invitation for you to join the Alliance as soon as a mutually acceptable resolution to the name issue has been reached. We stand by our commitments. So we will continue to work closely with you. To support you in essential reform efforts, so that we can move quickly once the name issue is resolved. And we encourage you to continue your efforts to find a solution”, he said.
The NATO Secretary General stressed that all Allies agree that NATO’s Open Door policy has made Europe more secure and that accession to the Alliance should be based on performance.
“There is still work to be done. But our door remains open”, he said.