The two ministers of Defense approached during the official talks, this morning, Monday, January 15, the issues on the process of transformation the Romanian and Macedonian armed forces are going through, the presence of the two countries' military in the theaters of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia and Herzegovina and the situation in the Balkans, Kosovo region included.

During the press statement following the official meeting, minister Sorin Frunzaverde affirmed that Romania is supporting Macedonia's join to the North Atlantic Alliance with the hope that an invitation will be addressed in this respect to this country during the NATO Summit in 2008. The decision to be taken depends only on the progress the Macedonian authorities will have in the process of alignment to the North Atlantic standards, underlined the Romanian minister of Defense, Sorin Frunzaverde.

The Macedonian minister Lazar Elenovski congratulated the Romanian people for the join to the European Union and he qualified this moment as an historic one not only for Romania but for the entire region of the Balkans, too and for the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of other countries from this region.

The Macedonian delegation will be received at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will visit the National College of Defense, will participate to the inauguration of the new headquarters of the Romanian Euro-Atlantic Council and will sign the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Romanian Euro-Atlantic Council and the Macedonian Euro-Atlantic Council.

MoD Spokesperson