NATO remains on its decision regarding Macedonia's membership in the Alliance, after a settlement on the name issue with the government of one member-state - Greece - is reached, said NATO's Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy Dirk Brengelmann after Friday's meeting with Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki.

"NATO remains on its decision and hopes the two governments will soon approximate their positions and reach a solution to the problem. However, it is important to stress that we will continue to cooperate within the Membership Action Plan (MAP) and I hope we will achieve further success in this regard", said Brengelmann.

Asked if the decision on Macedonia's membership could be reviewed, taking into consideration the process before the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ), NATO's Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy said he would not like to speculate if the Court's judgment would have an effect on Macedonia's application, since the Alliance is not part of the process.

FM Milososki reiterated Macedonia's position that NATO is not a party in the process, whereas the country remains committed to the name talks.

"The ICJ process does not involve NATO in any way. We do not expect the court to assess NATO's conduct as an organization, but Greece's conduct and activities as a party in the Interim Accord, which represents the most significant bilateral document in Macedonia-Greece relations. Regardless of the international-legal dimension of this suit, there is political commitment for resumption of the Macedonia-Greece dialogue and we hope conditions will be created for approximation of positions in order to overcome this bilateral dispute", he stressed.

Brengelmann and Milososki also referred to Macedonia's achievements in the field of reforms, as well as their enhancement, aimed at sustainable compatibility of Macedonian institutions with NATO.

"NATO membership is our strategic goal. Republic of Macedonia belongs to NATO as much as NATO belongs to Macedonia, and this connection is very deep and strong", stated FM Milososki.

Brengelmann also thanked Macedonia for its contribution in the Alliance ISAF mission and its constructive role in the region, underlining that the country has transformed from importer to security exporter.

The meeting also tackled regional issues, as well as Libya developments.