Stoltenberg: North Macedonia membership process, “on track”

Secretary - General NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, has said to have guaranteed the prime minister of Northern Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, that the process of membership of this state in the north-Atlantic coalition “is on track”.

He has made those statements only days after the European Union has failed to provide a date for launching membership negotiations.

Stoltenberg has said through a post on the social network, Twitter that he has called Zaev for “guaranteed commitment to North Macedonia's membership”, adding that the “ratification process is well under way, and I look forward to North Macedonia joining alliance”.

Northern Macedonia has secured a protocol for NATO membership in February this year, after reaching agreement with Greece a year ago for name change, ending the dispute on the issue with Athens.

So far 24 of the 29 NATO member states have ratified the protocol for membership of this state.