Foreign ministers from NATO member countries will meet on Thursday for discussions over enlargement while Macedonia and Greece are struggling for a solution to a name dispute.
Greece, a NATO member state, has threatened to block Macedonia's alliance membership over the latter's name. Greece fears that the former Yugoslav republic's constitutional name -- Republic of Macedonia -- implies territorial ambition for the neighboring northern Greek province of Macedonia.
Macedonia has refused to change its name for the sake of NATO membership.
The foreign ministers' meeting takes place three weeks before a summit of the alliance in Bucharest, Romania, at which NATO heads of state and government have to make final decisions on enlargement. Apart from Macedonia, Croatia and Albania are also knocking at NATO's door.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer traveled to Athens on Monday to push for a solution to the dispute between Greece and Macedonia.
He asked the two countries to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, NATO spokesman James Appathurai told reporters on Wednesday.
Croatia is widely tipped to get invitation at the Bucharest summit while Macedonia's success would obviously depend on results of discussions with Greece in the run-up to the summit. There was speculation that Albania may also have to wait if Macedonia's bid is blocked.
The NATO foreign ministers will look at the wider region of Western Balkans and discuss closer links with Bosnia and Montenegro, which, together with Serbia, were allowed to join the alliance's Partnership for Peace program in November 2006.
They are also expected to consider ways of engaging Serbia, which is angered by Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from it.
De Hoop Scheffer has said repeatedly the integration of all Western Balkan states into NATO and the European Union is the only way for long-term stability in the region.
The NATO foreign ministers are also expected to discuss Georgia and Ukraine's aspirations to move even closer to the alliance. Both countries have wished to join NATO's Membership Action Plan, the last step toward NATO membership.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article