site.btaMacedonia Expects Bulgaria's Support for its Membership in EU, NATO

Macedonia Expects Bulgaria's Support for its Membership in EU, NATO

Sofia, October 7 (BTA) - Macedonia expects Bulgaria's support
for its membership in the EU and NATO, Macedonian President
Gjorge Ivanov said during a public lecture on "Macedonia in
NATO: Expectations for the Warsaw NATO Summit", organized by the
 Atlantic Club of Bulgaria here Wednesday.

President Ivanov expressed readiness for the signing of a
goodneighbourliness treaty with Bulgaria based on the
Goodneighbourliness Declaration of 1999, noting that it is not
the form but the essence that is of key importance.

In his words, it is time to start a new chapter in the relations
 between Bulgaria and Macedonia, free of the burden of those in
whose minds the Iron Curtain still exists.
 
Asked about the goodneighbourliness treaty with Bulgaria, the
Macedonian President said that the working groups on the
agreement are expected to hold a sitting.

In his lecture, Ivanov talked about his country's achievements
in various fields aimed at membership in NATO, underscoring that
 Macedonia shares common values, interests and priorities with
the Alliance. Unfortunately, these goals and principles "sank"
at the 2008 Bucharest NATO  Summit, where the Alliance
demonstrated indecisiveness, lack of unity and dissension on the
 question of Macedonia's integration, he added.
 
Ivanov described Macedonia as an example of how NATO should not
treat a candidate member. He outlined several lessons drawn from
 this case, including how the Alliance has became a hostage of
individual interests of its members, and the double standards of
 the organization, noting that Macedonia holds the Guinness
record with 16 implemented action plans for membership. Ivanov
also mentioned as  lessons the lack of respect for the
organization's own principles, referring to the decision
concerning Greece's blockage of Macedonia's membership and the
disregard for the citizens' democratic will - in some cases the
support for Macedonia's NATO membership reached 94 per cent. The
 blockage of Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic integration is an example
 of how the security in the region should not be built, he
added.

In his lecture, Ivanov also underscored the role of Bulgarian
ex-president Zhelyu Zhelev and Atlantic Club of Bulgaria
President Solomon Passy in the Euro-Atlantic integration.

Attending the lecture were Bulgarian ex-president Peter
Stoyanov, PanEuropa Bulgaria President Gergana Passy, diplomats
and experts.