NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a visit to North Macedonia that NATO does not see any military threat from Russia against any NATO ally or the region, but that it is cautious and united.
Stoltenberg said after a meeting with the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovačevski, that NATO is watching what is happening and is ready to do whatever is necessary to defend any ally from a military threat.
“We have a military presence in this region with KFOR, with the General Staff in Sarajevo and with the offices in Belgrade, and we are ready to step in quickly and do whatever is necessary to defend every ally against any threat. But we don’t see anything that poses a threat yet to any NATO ally,” Stoltenberg said.
He pointed out that NATO continues to repeat the message to Russia “that it should refrain from actions and stop the war against Ukraine”.
“And of course they should respect international law because every nation has the right to choose its own path,” Stoltenberg said when asked by journalists to comment on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent statement that there is information that Russia has a plan for military destabilization in the Balkans.
Kovačevski said that there is no threat to the security and stability of North Macedonia.
“Of course, the influence of third countries, including Russian influence, exists in the region and they can always find like-minded people in certain political parties and in certain organizations, but they are not even close to what our institutions possess and what NATO member countries possess, to could destabilize our country in any way,” Kovačevski said.
At the meeting, concrete political and economic benefits for the country from NATO membership were also pointed out. Kovačevski pointed out that the stability and security made possible by membership in NATO is of great importance for the development of the economy and that it is a direct benefit for both citizens and companies in North Macedonia, Skopje media reported.
On the NATO website, it was announced that Stoltenberg, in his address to the assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia in Skopje, said that the Balkans are essential for the security of Europe.
In his address, Stoltenberg thanked North Macedonia for its commitment to the security of the Alliance, including its valuable support to the NATO peacekeeping mission KFOR in Kosovo.
North Macedonia became a member of NATO in March 2020, after the Prespa agreement, Srna reports.
