President Ivanov meets with NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg

Thursday, 06 September 2018 08:21

PRM_Stoltenberg_1 The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, received today the Secretary General of NATO, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg.

At the meeting, the current internal political situation in the Republic of Macedonia was discussed, the country's Euro-Atlantic integrations and the progress of the defense and security reforms in accordance with NATO standards.

The Macedonian President stressed that the Republic of Macedonia is strongly committed to promoting peace and stability and contributing to security in and out of our region.

President Ivanov stressed that the Republic of Macedonia continuously shows that it is a reliable and strategic partner and NATO ally, adding that as early as 2008, the Republic of Macedonia fulfilled the requirements for NATO membership, and all these years, actively contributing to international peacekeeping missions, deserves membership in NATO without additional conditions.

- I believe that the real place of the Republic of Macedonia is in the European Union and the NATO Alliance. I will continue to support our strategic goals. The European Union and NATO should in no way be an alibi for a bad deal, President Ivanov said at a meeting with the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.

President Ivanov stressed that all of his duties as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces in relation to the defense are completed and that the ARM has fulfilled the assigned tasks and managed to prove itself as an equal partner with the armies of the NATO member states in the trainings, exercises and checks, and in practice in carrying out operations.

In this regard, President Ivanov indicated that he supported the process of adopting the strategic defense review in line with the recommendations of the NATO advisory teams and that the new strategy, which is exclusively oriented towards NATO membership, has been drafted.

Taking into account the new real challenges that the region and Europe are facing, President Ivanov added, maintaining the security, stability and prosperity of our region should be a collective interest of all.