Macedonia has been officially invited to become a member of NATO

This invitation was made after the authorities of Skopje settled the dispute with Athens.

Last month, the authorities of Skopje and Athens ended the dispute that lasted about ten years about the northern neighbor of Greece, the name accepted by both parties being the Republic of Macedonia. This solution led Greece to abandon its opposition to Macedonia's accession to NATO.

"We welcome the historic agreement between Athens and Skopje on the solution of the name problem and, according to our policy, we decided to invite the Skopje government to enter into negotiations on the issue of the name problem. joining to join our alliance ", reveals the joint declaration of the leaders of the Member States of NATO

For Macedonia to join the North Atlantic, the country must approve the agreement with Greece in a referendum and change its name from a constitutional point of view.This is only after the Greek Parliament ratifies the agreement and accession of Macedonia to the Republic of Macedonia. NATO

The agreement concluded by Macedonia and Greece welcomes the firm opposition of nationalists

Since 1991, when Macedonia is became sovereign following the dismantling of the ex-Yo Yugoslavia, Athens accused of attempting to acquire the Greek heritage of the Greek province of Greece and territorial aspirations to Greece

The general secretary of the NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, said last month that the Alliance would very likely approve the start of the accession talks this week, Agerpres said.

Stoltenberg said that the recent agreement with Greece the name change of the former Yugoslav Republic in the Republic of North Macedonia and the end of a ten-year-old dispute constituted "A historic agreement that offers a historic opportunity" in Skopje to join NATO

The name change has yet to be formalized but the decision is still criticized in both countries

"The fulfillment on our part of the agreement (related to the name) will be accomplished in the process of" preparation for NATO, "said Dimitrov. [19659005] Asked about the possibility that Russia could disrupt the process of joining NATO because of its concerns about the expansion of the Atlantic Alliance in its sphere of influence traditional, Dimitrov said: "If that had not been the case the questio n of the name, we would have been members of NATO in 2008. "

" So I firmly believe that it is not against another country and will have a major influence on the stability of the region. that will happen, we are concerned about any obstacle that may arise, "he said.

<! – Jens Stoltenberg ->

Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize Winner