Radmila Shekerinska

Interview by Angelos Al. Athanasopoulos

North Macedonia is determined to keep its word and implement the Prespa Agreement, the country's Defence Minister, Radmila Shekerinska, said in an exclusive interview with To Vima, on the occasion of her arrival in Greece to attend the DEFEA defence fair.

Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, will pay a visit to Sofia before June 20th. This is what Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and PM Zaev agreed in Brussels.

Moment of Truth

Zoran Zaev, until recently the Prime Minister of North Macedonia and leader of the ruling SDSM, faces his moment of truth on April 12th as Macedonian voters are set to go to the polls to pass judgement on his government. While having achieved a great deal in the foreign policy realm, his government has disappointed expectations on the domestic front.

Voters, she said, must choose between that future or a return to the past under VMRO-DPMNE when the party was accused of monopolising power, undermining independent institutions, stifling media freedom and spending wildly on nationalist vanity projects.

The US is ready to welcome Macedonia as NATO's 30th member if its citizens decide to support this path at the forthcoming referendum, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said in Skopje on Monday after meeting Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and Defence Minister Radmila Shekerinska.

As Macedonia begins talks about joining NATO, an ongoing US military exercise may pave the way for restoring the country's landmark Krivolak army training centre to its full capacity, offering thousands of NATO soldiers a place to drill.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference on Tuesday that Macedonia will be invited to start accession talks at the summit, but will only be able to join after implementing the name deal with Greece.

FYROM (Macedonia) has shown that it has the capacity to carry out reforms in the spirit of NATO's values, says the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg.

During a meeting with Macedonian Defense Minister Radmila Shekerinska, he said that Macedonia has shown it has the capacity to focus on democratic processes, defense reforms and become a factor of stability in the region.

During a meeting with Macedonian Defense Minister Radmila Shekerinska, he said that Macedonia has shown it has the capacity to focus on democratic processes, defense reforms and become a factor of stability in the region.

"With the consistent implementation of reforms, Macedonia's place is in NATO," Stoltenberg said.

Macedonia's new government will work hard to convince the EU to revive accession talks by this autumn, and to address Greece's objections to the country's NATO accession, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev told top EU and NATO officials in Brussels on Monday.