The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, met today with Ms. Victoria Nuland, United States Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.

At the meeting, they exchanged views on the overall development of bilateral relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the United States and the situation regarding the Republic of Macedonia's membership in the European Union and NATO.

Regarding the strategic goals of the Republic of Macedonia, President Ivanov stressed that the country remains fully committed to the opening of accession negotiations with the European Union and waits for an invitation for NATO membership, and expressed expectation for the US support and commitment in this respect. "The Euro-Atlantic integrations have a great cohesive power in our multiethnic society, and not coincidentally enjoy tremendous political, ethnic and social support. The protracted status quo in the integrations does not help foster the Macedonian model of coexistence, and, therefore, even more enhanced support from the United States is extremely important for the Republic of Macedonia," the Macedonian President said.

The Republic of Macedonia, as before, can still count on strong support from the United States in achieving the strategic goals, Ms. Nuland said, stressing the readiness for further close cooperation with the leaders of the Republic of Macedonia and urged all political leaders in the country to work on further strengthening of trust.

The meeting with the Assistant Secretary of State confirmed the interest of the Republic of Macedonia to intensify the strategic partnership with the United States and expressed expectation for further strengthening of the overall bilateral cooperation.