Macedonia and Kosovo share same interest - all countries of the region to join the European Union and NATO, Defense Minister Zoran Konjanovski said Thursday in Pristina after meeting Minister of Security Forces Agim Ceku.

We should crown the Balkan security architecture with NATO membership of all countries and start thinking about an intensive economic development, desired by the citizens, Konjanovski said.

Konjanovski and Ceku agreed to bolster the cooperation between the two Ministries of Defense and armies.

"We sincerely offer our hand for cooperation to our Kosovo friends. We are ready to share our experiences," Konjanovski said.

He reminded that Macedonia, which this year marks the 20th anniversary of independence, had been working hard on its NATO, EU integration.

Macedonia, Konjanovski said, has kicked off a procedure for appointing a military attache to Pristina, while in 2011 the country will its representative to NATO Advisory Team in Kosovo. This February Skopje and Pristina signed a bilateral Plan for Defense Cooperation.

Konjanovski has given me strong guarantee that Macedonia will support Pristina on its road to joining the Partnership for Peace and other NATO programs, Ceku said.

"Cooperation is the only way for speeding up the accession to NATO and preserve the regions' security," Ceku said, underlying that Kosovo needs the experiences of other countries to build the capacities of the Ministry of Defense and the security forces.

Today, Konjanovski also held talks with Kosovo Vice-Premier Hajredin Kuci and KFOR Commander Erhard Buehler. l