Press Release (2002)007 17 January 2002

Bad Weather Forces NATO Secretary General to Postpone Skopje Visit The Secretary General's visit to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1), which was to take place today, has been postponed because of bad weather. Heavy fog prevented Lord Robertson from travelling to Skopje. The visit, whose purpose was to discuss progress of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1) in the context of NATO's Membership Action Plan, will be rescheduled for a later date. The Secretary General spoke to President Boris Trajkovski by telephone to explain the reason for this postponement. During the conversation he reiterated the support of both NATO and the international community for the President's peace plan and stressed the need to maintain progress towards its full implementation. Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.

Tel: Fax: +32 (0)2 707 50 41 +32 (0)2 707 50 57 B-1110 Brussels/Bruxelles http://www.nato.int press@hq.nato.int