Macedonia’s NATO membership without a solution to the name issue is too hot a potato and therefore experts doubt that any member states would push for an issue that is hard to pass. In their view, taking into account the present situation and the statements of high-ranking representatives of many member states, an invitation to Macedonia in Chicago is almost an impossible mission, Dnevnik reports.

All official representatives of the NATO member states, including the USA, say it is futile to expect that at a summit, at which no expansion is planned, an issue, such as Macedonia’s accession to the Alliance, is raised. However, a small room has been left within the item of “other.” NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday that the issues to be tabled at the summit include Afghanistan, NATO’s capacities, the rocket defense and the contribution of the partner countries to the ISAF Mission.

“For an issue to fall under ‘other,’ according to the procedures of the Alliance, there is no obstacle because anyone can say what they wish. However, even the ‘other’ issues have to be agreed upon considering nobody wants surprises, especially not at massive gatherings,” Dnevnik’s sources explain.