Defence officials discuss NATO integration in Macedonia

The process of Euro-Atlantic integration should be intensified and include all countries in the region, according to participants attending a regional conference on NATO integration that began on Monday (May 31st) in Bitola. Some of the ministers said that unless Macedonia and Kosovo are admitted to NATO and unless remaining issues are resolved, the Balkans will remain a bastion of potential tension. The two-day conference brought together defence ministers and other top defence officials from Albania, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. No one representing Greece, Romania or Bulgaria is at the event.