President Ivanov expects for Macedonia to finally join NATO in 2018

I expect for Macedonia to finally join NATO at the upcoming Summit of the Alliance, President Gjorge Ivanov told reporters on Monday.

‘I hope that in the upcoming period NATO will not be held hostage by one of its members, which puts own interests before the ones of NATO and the region – something we expect to be presented at the upcoming summit of the Alliance – and Macedonia to finally become NATO member. Greece’s demands is under the competence of the United Nations, which is also in charge of the name negotiations. We have been for years taking active part in these negotiations, being faced with demands that don’t correspond with the UN Charter, resolutions and (Skopje-Athens) interim accord,’ Ivanov said after his visit to military barracks ‘Cojlija’.

The President also expects for Macedonia to obtain a date for EU accession talks under Bulgaria’s Presidency that kicked off today.

In regard to Macedonia’s NATO membership, Greece blocked the country at the end of the accession process, Ivanov said. Greece however hindered Macedonia’s EU accession process at the onset, preventing the start of negotiations and wrapping up of chapters under which the country should implement European standards.

‘This blockade cost us a lot, but so far nobody has told Greece anything about the damage it has been causing to Macedonia and the entire region,’ the President said.