- Title: NATO warns Macedonia as EU welcomes suspension of June vote
- Date: 18th May 2016
- Summary: SKOPJE, MACEDONIA (APRIL 18, 2016) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS MARCHING IN STREET PEOPLE CARRYING FLAGS AND BANNERS PROTESTERS ARRIVING IN FRONT OF PARLIAMENT BUILDING WOMAN HOLDING CROSSED OVER PHOTOGRAPH OF FORMER MACEDONIAN PRIME MINISTER NIKOLA GRUEVSKI MAN SHOUTING OVER MEGAPHONE (Macedonian) "No to amnesty" THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE CHANTING PROTESTER SHOUTING "NO PASARAN" CROWD CHANTING "NO PASARAN" GIRL BLOWING WHISTLE MAN HOLDING MACEDONIAN, ALBANIAN, EUROPEAN UNION AND UNITED STATES FLAGS PROTESTERS IN FRONT OF PARLIAMENT BUILDING RIOT POLICEMAN WATCHING PROTESTERS CHANTING MAN SHOUTING (Macedonian) "No justice, no peace" GIRL BLOWING WHISTLE
- Embargoed: 2nd June 2016 15:39
- Keywords: NATO Stoltenberg Macedonia Politics
- Location: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM/SKOPJE, MACEDONIA
- City: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM/SKOPJE, MACEDONIA
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: European Union,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0034IC5R21
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: NATO's secretary-general warned Macedonia on Wednesday (May 18) not to let its political crisis wreck its hopes of joining the Atlantic alliance.
The tiny ex-Yugoslav republic has been in turmoil since the opposition accused then-Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his counter-intelligence chief in February 2015 of wiretapping more than 20,000 people.
Under an EU-brokered agreement, Macedonian politicians agreed last year to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the scandal and to hold early elections, but the process is fraying.
In his first public remarks on the crisis, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on the former Yugoslav republic's authorities to contribute to finding a solution with Greece over its disputed name and to hold fair elections.
"The door of NATO is still open, but it is crucial that if we are going to move further with FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) then we have to both solve the problems related to the name. But also, we have to make sure that minimum conditions are put in place for credible elections," he said.
Stoltenberg also urged President Gjorge Ivanov to revoke his pardons of more than 50 people implicated in the scandal, which has prompted almost daily protests by Macedonians.
"It is also crucial that the country's leaders address persisting rule of law problems, including revoking the recent presidential pardons, supporting the work of the special prosecutor so there are reasons to be concerned and we are following the developments in the the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia very closely," he said.
Earlier on Wednesday Macedonia's top court temporarily suspended all preparations for an election on June 5 until it decides whether the dissolution of parliament in April was in line with the constitution.
The European Commission, which has also expressed concern about the rule of law and democracy in Macedonia, welcomed the court move, saying it "clears the way for parliament to reconvene and to cancel the June 5 elections, the conditions for which were not there".
Macedonia aspires to join both NATO and the EU. The West sees binding the poor Balkan states into both organisations as the best way of bringing stability and prosperity to a region long blighted by ethnic tensions, poverty and corruption.
Macedonia has provided support for NATO missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan, but it must resolve a dispute with southern neighbour Greece over its name before it can join the alliance.
Macedonia, which won its independence from the now-defunct Yugoslavia in 1991, is officially listed as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at the United Nations.
Many Greeks fret that its use of the name Macedonia implies a territorial claim on a northern Greek province of the same name, something Skopje has always strongly denied. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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