North Macedonia's NATO accession is "well on track," the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday, after EU leaders told Skopje last week it would have to wait to begin accession talks with the European Union
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st October, 2019) North Macedonia's NATO accession is "well on track," the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday, after EU leaders told Skopje last week it would have to wait to begin accession talks with the European Union.
At a two-day summit last week, EU leaders failed to agree on whether to let Albania and North Macedonia begin accession talks. European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission leader Jean-Claude Juncker expressed their disappointment with this decision, while French President Emmanuel Macron insisted that the European Union had to get reformed itself first.
"Good phone call with PM @Zoran_Zaev to reaffirm #NATO's commitment to North Macedonia's accession. The ratification process is well on track & I look forward to North Macedonia joining our Alliance soon," Stoltenberg said on Twitter.
North Macedonia's accession treaty was signed on February 6 and has already been ratified by 20 out of 29 alliance members.
The country has been blocked by Greece from beginning accession talks with NATO and the EU for years due to a naming dispute. However, the conflict was settled last year, with Skopje agreeing to change the country's name to the Republic of North Macedonia.
