NATO focused on the Prespa agreement – Stoltenberg: Gruevski is not an issue for NATO

Brussels – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday that the protection given to Hungary as a member of the former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski is not an issue for NATO, but something that should be resolved by Skopje and Budapest.

“That’s not for me to comment. It is an issue that has to be addressed between Skopje and Budapest, not for NATO,” Stoltenberg told a press conference before the NATO ministerial meeting.

He announced tomorrow’s meeting for the Western Balkans, which will be attended by High Representative for EU foreign policy, Federica Mogherini.

Stoltenberg was encouraged by the vote in parliament on constitutional changes, but whether he would succeed the second two-thirds vote did not want to prejudge by saying that it would be our decision.

Stoltenberg was encouraged by the vote in parliament on constitutional changes, but whether the second two-thirds vote would succeed he did not want to speculate, saying that it would be our decision.

But he reiterated that as soon as the name agreement passes, the admission protocol will immediately be signed and Macedonian representatives will participate in NATO meetings.

“This is a historic and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join NATO and we are ready to welcome you as our 30th member,” said Stoltenberg.

“It’s for the Parliament and for the authorities in Skopje to make the decisions. I cannot guarantee on behalf of Skopje, that’s for them to decide. But what we have seen is that the first vote in the parliament where it was required a two-third majority, it was a two-third majority to initiate this process, whether there will be two-third next time, when they have the final vote, that is not for me to speculate, but what I can say is that as soon as the name agreement is implemented then we are ready to sign the Accession Protocol, and as soon as we sign the accession protocol with Skopje, the government of Skopje will start too meet at our ministerial meetings, said Stoltenberg.

Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov is also in Brussels and for the first time he will have the opportunity of a direct meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó to discuss Budapest’s decision to give Nikola Gruevski asylum, and with it to justify his alleged political persecution against him in Macedonia and the poor condition in Macedonian prisons. Macedonia’s request for Gruevski’s extradition is in Budapest, but judging by the scarce talk of NATO about this issue and the transferring the ball to the court of Viktor Orban’s government, there are no signals that there is any pressure on Hungary behind the scene to reiterate on the asylum because it is protected by the member state status. NATO is also not interested at the moment in problematizing this issue in order not to hurt Macedonia’s accession process by provoking the Hungarian government’s response. Stoltenberg’s statement showed that NATO was only interested in the implementation of the Prespa Agreement and that it was ready for the day when this would happen in Macedonia and in Greece.

“Gruevski is not an issue for NATO, and why would he be? The issue to us is Macedonia. Out of sight, out of mind,” NATO diplomat commented on the considerations in the Alliance over Gruevski’s escape. According to this source, the farther Gruevski – the better for the country, and especially for VMRO-DPMNE, which will get rid of the ballast of his leadership, and for Macedonia it is only important to pass the Prespa agreement and to finally join the NATO alliance. Here in NATO, it is also not expected from Hungary to try to hinder Macedonia’s membership in any way, saying that it has not sent such sign so far, and with a message – your accession is a done deal! In the sense that there is nothing that could prevent the accession process and that it depends only on us and on Greece.

Minister Dimitrov, in addition to the meeting with Szijjártó, has also scheduled meetings with NATO’s Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok, a country that has put a break on Macedonia, along with France, on the decision to negotiate with the European Union, and a country that expects greater results in the judiciary and the fight against corruption. Dimitrov will also meet with his Turkish counterpart in NATO, and there are arranged meetings in the EU with EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn and with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, as well as meetings with several MEPs and an address in the European Parliament.

The main topic of NATO’s ministerial meeting, in turn, will be Russian provocations, from the launch of a new rocket that goes beyond the framework of the agreement on strategic disarmament and the capture of Ukrainian ships in the Azores. Concerning the new medium-range Russian rocket, Stoltenberg said it was very mobile and difficult to detect, that it could carry a nuclear head and could reach European cities in a very short time, in such a short time that there would be no time for a warning. In contrast, Stoltenberg said, the United States fully respected the signed disarmament agreement and therefore urged Moscow to take urgent steps and align it with it in a transparent and verifiable manner. It is unlikely, however, that this would  happen, as well as NATO’s demand that Russia immediately releases the Ukrainian ships and seamen.

 Special Rapporteur for Nezavisen Vesnik from Brussels

Slobodanka Jovanovska