Macedonia aims NATO membership

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the new Prime Minister of Macedonia Zoran Zaev to NATO headquarters on Monday for talks on the partnership between the Alliance and Macednia.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the NATO chief congratulated Zaev on his appointment and welcomed the formation of a new government.
Calling Skopje “an important partner” for NATO, he also thanked Zaev for his countryآ’s contribution to NATOآ’s Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and noted that the Alliance will continue to support Skopjeآ’s path towards Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership.
On his part, Zaev said “we will try by all measures to move Macedonia towards its full membership in NATO. I expect support from citizens of Greece through their government and opposition in solving this problem.”
He suggested that with the temporary reference of the name Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) it can become a member of NATO and then continue discussions about the name issue with Greece.
Stoltenberg said a mutually acceptable name is mentioned explicitly in the communiquأ© of the NATO summit in Warsaw of 2016.
Greece has blocked Macedoniaآ’s NATO membership over the name dispute. Greeks argue that the name implies a territorial claim to the northern Greek province, which carries the same name Macedonia.