Macedonia signs strategic partnership agreement with United States

08/05/2008

Just over a month after the NATO summit in Bucharest, Macedonia and the United States have agreed to boost ties.

By Zoran Nikolovski for Southeast European Times in Skopje -- 08/05/08

Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki (left) accompanies US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to a signing ceremony Wednesday (May 7th) at the State Department in Washington. [Getty Images]

Macedonia and the United States have signed a strategic co-operation agreement, covering a wide range of areas. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Macedonian counterpart, Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki, signed the deal on Wednesday (May 7th).

"This is a very important, historic event for Macedonia," Milososki said. "In the United States, we see a credible partner and ally and Macedonia will remain a reliable partner of the United States in our efforts to achieve our common goals, sharing our common values."

The signing came just over one month after NATO concluded its April summit in Bucharest. Although Macedonia had hoped for an invitation to join the Alliance, its bid was blocked due to the ongoing name dispute with Greece. At a joint press conference Wednesday, Rice reiterated Washington's view that Macedonia belongs in NATO.

"I think that it is well known that the United States strongly supports the accession of Macedonia to NATO as soon as the name dispute can be reconciled," she said. "We hope that that will happen very, very soon, because Macedonia deserves to be a member."

Greece and Macedonia are both good friends of the United States, Rice said. "It is our great hope that with enough will and enough effort and enough flexibility, this issue can be resolved," she said, calling for redoubled efforts at negotiating a solution.

Milososki, meanwhile, said his country has demonstrated its commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration. "Our goals are full membership into NATO," he said. "Our soldiers are serving side by side, shoulder to shoulder with American and other soldiers in the NATO missions in the world. And Macedonia has proven that, as a peaceful nation in Southeastern Europe, it could really contribute to the peace, stability and economic development in the region."

The deal signed on Wednesday re-affirms co-operation in the fields of trade and the economy, calls for stronger ties in the security arena, and outlines specific measures aimed at boosting public-level contacts between the two countries. Skopje and Washington "wish to enhance their strategic relationship through intensified consultation and co-operation in the areas of security, people-to-people ties, and commerce," it reads.

For many in Macedonia, a key clause in the agreement is one that declares support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, the purposes and principles of the UN charter, and a unitary, multi-ethnic Macedonia within its existing borders.

Under the deal, the United States will immediately provide additional assistance to Macedonia to help build prosperity, strengthen security and foster closer ties.