Nineteen US Congressmen sent a letter to US President Barack Obama to encourage the US allies in NATO to extend Macedonia an official invitation to join the Alliance at the coming summit in Lisbon, the United Macedonian Diaspora said.

“Macedonia’s future in the Euro-Atlantic institutions, as well as the security and stability of Southeast Europe should no longer be under the negative influence from the bilateral issue with Greece. Macedonia met all the criteria for NATO membership and the name issue is not a membership criterion,” reads the Congressmen’s letter to President Obama.

The letter, sent also to Vice-President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, calls attention to Macedonia’s dedication to the international missions in Iraq and Afghanistan led by the USA and NATO and to the logistic support for the NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999 and the sheltering of some 360,000 refugees. In addition, the letter underscores Macedonia’s contribution to the peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the fact that Macedonia is one of the top four contributors by the size of its population and that 255 Macedonian soldiers are securing the ISAF HQ in Kabul.