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Besimi: Macedonia 'de facto' NATO member through contribution in peacekeeping missions
28. April 2012. | 13:37
Source: MIA
Macedonia's actions as 'de facto' NATO member is of enormous significance for the Alliance and the country's credibility, said Defense Minister Fatmir Besimi after his official visit to Berlin, in light of the NATO Chicago summit.
Federal Republic of Germany supports Republic of Macedonia over its NATO membership, expressing recognition and gratitude for the participation of Macedonian peacekeepers in international missions.
Macedonia's actions as 'de facto' NATO member is of enormous significance for the Alliance and the country's credibility, said Defense Minister Fatmir Besimi after his official visit to Berlin, in light of the NATO Chicago summit.
DM Besimi met with German colleague Thomas de Maiziere, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Defence, Christian Schmidt, as well as members of the Defence Committee of the German Bundestag, MIA reports.
According to him, full-fledged NATO membership remains Macedonia's strategic priority, adding that contribution to peacekeeping missions would continue, as well as reforms towards meeting Alliance standards.
"Pertaining to the Euro-Atlantic integration and significance of region's stability, we agreed that Macedonia 'de facto' acts and will continue to act as Alliance member, both with regards to reforms and international missions", Besimi said after the meetings.
Interlocutors highly assessed Macedonia-Germany cooperation in the defense field.
Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Defence, Christian Schmidt said cooperation developed as if both countries were fully integrated in NATO.
"Macedonia's contribution in international missions truly deserves recognition. The issue of the timeframe regarding Macedonia's future membership in NATO and EU will depend from the removal of the existing obstacles", added Schmidt.
He emphasized that Macedonian troops in Afghanistan play an important role. Moreover, Schmidt said Germany would head a EU Battlegroup battalion in the second half of 2012, including Macedonian troops amongst others.
In the framework of the annual bilateral cooperation programmes, 115 Macedonian Army (ARM) members have attended Bundeswehr training centers thus far, along with numerous trainings for medical personnel. Macedonia's first contribution to the ISAF mission was realized as part of the German contingent in 2003.
Comments (3)
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29. April 2012. 07:03:46
| Ime
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"Macedonia's actions as 'de facto' NATO member is of enormous significance for the Alliance"
A couple of hundred troops to Afghanistan? Enormous"? Seriously?
The more some dishonestly pretend not to notice the former Yugoslavians attempts to usurp Greek history and attempts to insinuate our homeland is "occupied"... the more obvious it becomes they have prejudices against Greeks. At last check identity theft is not a human right and Nato is a security organization not only a club for lovers of schnitzel. Obstacles that need to be removed for FYROM to join is any in individual that seriously undermines the security of other NATO members for a non-Nato member. Such individuals violating the NATO charter in such an egregious way make NATO meaningless as a security organization.
"This (US) Government considers talk of Macedonian "nation", Macedonian "Fatherland", or Macedonia "national consciousness" to be unjustified demagoguery representing no ethnic nor political reality, and sees in its present revival a possible cloak for aggressive intentions against Greece" - US State Department Dec, 1944 (Foreign Relations Vol. VIII Washington D.C. Circular Airgram - 868.014/26)
29. April 2012. 18:05:19
| Violating the NATO charter?
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Macedonia has consistently supported NATO. The 'identity theft' that the Greek mentions below is a Greek Nationalist invention. Look at a Greek school atlas from the 1970s and you will see that Greece had NO problem recognizing Macedonia as a nation (within Yugoslavia. What changed?
Now lets look at what Greece as a NATO member did. 1. When NATO was bombing Serbia Greece not only opposed the use of its resources - but actively passed classified information to the Serbs! If Greece were a soldier it would be shot for treason! It also broke NATO sanctions.
2. Greece opposed the NATO mission in Afghanistan and refused to send combat troops.
3. Greece routinely acts aggressively to another NATO member, Turkey. Greek nationalist parties continue to discuss the reconquest of Istanbul.
4. Greeks celebrated 9/11 and polls at the time showed that many Greeks believed the USA deserved what happened. The Greeks are probably the most Anti-US nation in Europe.
29. April 2012. 18:05:19
| Peter
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Considering Macedonias Armed Forces number about 8,000,and Greeces 140,000,the Republic of Macedonia is 5th largest contributor in Afganistan per capita is significant.Greece,a Nato member has same or less soldiers serving in Afganistan,isn't this ironic?.
Republic of Macedonia served in Iraq,where was Greece?.
Former US president John Adams said it right;"The Greeks of this day,although they are said to have imagination and ingenuity,are corrupted in their morals to such a degree,as to be a faithless,perfidipus race,destitute of courage,as well as of those principles of honor and virtue,without which nations can have no confidence in one another,nor be trusted by others."
Adams then goes on to describe the Greeks...230 years later they are still described in the same way,"corrupted in their morals to such a degree,as to be faithless,perfidious race,destitute of courage..."Ouch!
Greeks have no courage to admitt the truth even in the 21st century,it is not in their blood.
Greece is the best in the World on ways to fabricate the historical truth.
More recently,they managed to fool the Eurozone,and its 26 other EU member nations on their financial situation.You deserve a medal of honour!
Now,elect Samaras and he will outspent Greece on political propaganda againts a peacful tiny nation of the Republic of Macedonia and againts its indigenouse Macedonian minority as he did in 1995 with the 130,000,000 dollars distributed in black garbage bags.No wonder,every Greek citizen owes 33,600 euro because of recless behaviour of these Greek politicians.