14 Feb 2007
Nikola Gruevski, the Prime Minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia1, visited NATO Headquarters on 14 February 2007, meeting with Secretary General. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and addressing the North Atlantic Council (NAC).
After the NAC meeting, the NATO Secretary General said that ambassadors had encouraged and supported the reform efforts in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia1. He praised these reform efforts, adding that still much remains to be done. He also thanked the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s1 participation in NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and support for KFOR. The Secretary General called for strengthening the dialogue between the government and opposition and among the parties in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia1.
The NATO Secretary General said the only recipe for security and stability in the Western Balkans is Euro-Atlantic integration for the region. He expected all countries in the region eventually to become NATO members, adding: “When, I don’t know.” Prime Minister Gruevski recognized “it’s fully up to us,” pledging continuing reforms in the defence and other fields in 2007.
Finally, the NATO Secretary General looked forward to the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council Security Forum to be held in Ohrid, in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia1, in June 2007.
