23 July 2003

Visit of senior politician from former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia1 News 17/03/2003 - NATO NATO-EU cooperation taken to a new level Background NATO’s role in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 1 Multimedia High resolution photos Ali Ahmeti, leader of one of the major parties in the Macedonian government coalition, met for talks with Lord Robertson at NATO on 23 July. Lord Robertson and Mr. Ahmeti discussed the current situation in the country and recent developments, including progress in implementing the Ohrid agreement, which laid out a series of political reforms. The international community helped broker the agreement in 2001, which ended the threat of civil war involving the ethnic Albanian and ethnic Macedonian communities. NATO deployed a force in support of the agreement in 2001 to collect weapons handed in by ethnic Albanian guerillas. This year, after the signing of landmark cooperation agreements between NATO and the EU, the mission was taken on by the European Union’s Operation Concordia. Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name