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Stoltenberg: I hope North Macedonia becomes a NATO member by December

Jens Stoltenberg at 2018 NATO Summit; Photo: NATO

BRUSSELS – NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that he hopes that the ratification of the Accession protocol with North Macedonia will finish by December, and that this country  will become a full-fledged member at the London Summit, N1 reports.

“It doesn’t depend on me how fast the member states will ratify it, but it would be good if they can finish by December, when the leaders meet in London. If not then, I expect it to happen very soon afterwards,” said Stoltenberg.

According to N1, NATO Secretary-General stressed that North Macedonia meets all standards for this Alliance, and praised the efforts of the two Prime Ministers, Tzipras and Zaev, for courage shown for resolving the longstanding issue of the country’s name between the two countries.

“NATO enlargement is a great success story that helps spread prosperity, stability and democracy in Europe”, Stoltenberg said, adding that the membership of North Macedonia in NATO is a signal that the “open doors” policy is functioning successfully.

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