Greece does not benefit at all from blocking Macedonia’s NATO membership. It is doing it by inertia. However, Macedonia is not going to play the Greek destructive game, said Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki. There are still no valid arguments why we should not be allowed to become a NATO member state even though we met all criteria. Therefore the minister expects reiteration of the recommendation for setting Macedonia a date for opening membership negotiations and progress in the Euro-Atlantic integration.

Nobody disputes the way of taking decisions in the North-Atlantic Alliance based on a consensus if the consensus is in the interest of the Alliance and Macedonia’s membership is in the best interest of Macedonia as well as the region, including Greece. Minister Poposki also said that Athens had not yet assumed an official position to the Judgment of the International Court of Justice in The Hague whereby it is evidently  trying the suspend the Judgment.

The NATO summit in Chicago is not our crucial time reference point. What matters is that we have delivered the package required for membership and from that point of view Greece bears responsibility before both the international law and the role it plays as a regional actor to contribute to regional stability. Macedonia remains fully committed to the process under the auspices of the UN and is open to making it possible for Greece to be constructive so progress can be made,” Minister Poposki said at his meeting with journalists Monday.