The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the 28 NATO Member Countries addressed an invitation to Montenegro, whereby it will become the 29th NATO Member Country.

We wish to sincerely congratulate the citizens of Montenegro and all of the official representatives of Montenegro on this success. Therefore, this morning I had a telephone conversation with the President of Montenegro, Mr. Vujanovic and I congratulated him on behalf of the Macedonian citizens on all the achievements thus far, including the invitation to join NATO.

As a country of this region, we share the joy for the success of every country, because the success of each country individually, contributes to the stability and security of our region as a whole. However, it has to be taken into consideration that Macedonia has long fulfilled all the conditions requested for NATO membership, but due to the blockade by our southern neighbor, we are still in a status quo position.

In the past period, I informed many world statesmen with whom I had meetings regarding this issue. At these meetings, we pointed to the consequences from the blockades and status quo position of Macedonia. Blockades provoke frustrations for our population, but also for the society in general. So far, Macedonia has proven itself to be a respected, extraordinary partner of the Alliance, since it has participated in all missions when invited, and we have also completed 16 Membership Action Plans and started the 17th so-called MAP, without having obtained what we deserve.

The situation in the world and in our region point to more frequent terrorist acts; the refugee and migrant crisis is disturbing the security in our entire region. We are facing threats that we have never had before, which implies that there is a new reality that NATO has to bear in mind when adopting its decisions.

We can no longer hold the stance that this is a political decision adopted at a Summit, when there is a judgment to be observed. This having in mind that so far, the Alliance has been referring to the necessity to respect international law and all assumed obligations. I believe the same should be applied in the case of Macedonia.

Therefore, we wish to once again congratulate the citizens of Montenegro on this success, but we expect the Alliance to take into consideration the new reality and the achievements made so far by Macedonia on its way to NATO membership.

Thank you.