SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
Defence Minister and Deputy PM Radmila Sekerinska continued her visit to the United States, whose goal is to speed up the ratification of Macedonia’s NATO Accession Protocol. At the White House, she met William Berkley, National Security Agency Director for European Affairs and Laura Gabrielle Cowan, Adviser to US Vice President Mike Pence. The high White House representatives conveyed their country’s strong support for NATO membership for Macedonia. At the meeting with high State Department representatives Michael Murphy and Stanley Brown, Sekerinska was congratulated on the Prespa Agreement that presents Macedonia as a “success story for the Balkans and for the whole of Europe”. The German Marshall Fund (GMF) organised a debate with the Minister at which she explained the pledges for swifter ratification of the Protocol. “It’s important for the success to be confirmed, which is a strong message to the region,” she stressed. At the meetings in the Pentagon and at the State Departement, Sekerinska explained, she was told the preparations for the ratification were underway. The Senate hopes that the process in the United States would start in autumn, with the goal being completion of the ratification process before the NATO Summit in London. On the last day of her visit, Sekerinska met Congressmen Mike Turner and Adam smith.
