SKOPJE (Macedonia), October 19 (SeeNews) – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said it has launched formal accession talks with Macedonia in Brussels.
"Macedonia marked an important step on its road towards NATO membership,” the Alliance said in a press release on Thursday, following the start of two-day formal accession talks attended by NATO’s assistant secretary general, Alejandro Alvargonzalez and Macedonia’s defence minister Radmila Sekerinska-Jankovska.
The formal accession talks cover detailed aspects of membership, including political, military and legal questions.
“The country has worked closely with NATO, joining the Partnership for Peace (PfP) in 1995 and the Membership Action Plan (MAP) in 1999. For many years, the country has provided valuable support to NATO-led operations and missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo,” NATO said.
NATO is ready to welcome Macedonia as its 30th member state with accession talks expected to be concluded by January next year if the country implements its name deal with Greece, NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said earlier this month.
On Monday, the parliament in Skopje opened a debate on amendments to the constitution that would put into force a deal with neighbouring Greece to change Macedonia's name in order to open the way for the former Yugoslav republic to join NATO and the EU. The debate is ongoing, with a vote expected later this month.
A two-thirds majority in the 120-seat parliament is needed to push through the constitutional amendments. Zaev's Social Democrat-led coalition government would need support from opposition lawmakers from conservative VMRO-DPMNE party to muster the necessary majority.
The name deal was signed on June 17 by the foreign ministers of Macedonia and Greece to put an end to a dispute that has blocked Macedonia's accession to the NATO and EU.
Athens has blocked Macedonia’s attempts to join NATO and the EU for 27 years over the country's name. According to Greece, the current name Republic of Macedonia implies territorial clams on the Greek northernmost province of the same name.