Gates voices U.S. support for Macedonia's NATO bid


www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-08 22:28:09 Print

TIRANA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The United States strongly supports Macedonia's aspirations to become a full member of NATO, visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said here Wednesday.

"As many of you, we were also disappointed from this April's outcome, when Macedonia did not receive an invitation to join the alliance at the Bucharest Summit," Gates said.

Gates made the comments after he met with Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and Defense Minister Zoran Konjanovski, on the sidelines of the annual meeting of defense ministers from southeastern European countries.

Macedonia's NATO bid was thwarted at the alliance's April summit in Bucharest by Greece over a long-running name dispute between the two neighbors.

"We urge Macedonia and Greece to immediately find a solution to the issue, which is in the best interest of both countries and the region in general," Gates said.

Athens has been opposed to its neighbor being called the "Republic of Macedonia," arguing it implies a territorial claim over a Greek northern province also called Macedonia.

"There is only one way to membership, and that is through unanimous consent by all alliance members. We should work in this direction, and this goes not only for you, but for other countries too," Gates said.